Ding ding. ‘The Voice‘ vs. ‘X Factor‘ battle has officially begun, a week before the season premieres and the ratings books. ‘The Voice’ is strategically attempting to win Round 1 by adding an extra episode of Season 3 during the premiere week on Wednesday, Sept. 12, which is the same day that Season 2 of ‘X Factor’ premieres. That move has got Simon Cowell fighting mad.

According to TMZ, Cowell was none too pleased about the added episode, seething, “This is a cynical, cold-hearted, unprofessional way of doing business.” Cowell believed he had “a gentleman’s agreement” with NBC, where ‘The Voice’ would run on Mondays and Tuesdays, while ‘X’ would air on Wednesday and Thursdays on FOX. That way, fans of reality singing shows could enjoy both instead of having to choose between direct competition.

Cowell believes that NBC is trying to get pop fans to choose between Christina Aguilera‘s and Britney Spears‘ shows. Cowell said, “Britney’s not going to appreciate the fact that Christina — who has been a bit of a rival — isn’t allowing Britney to have a night of her own.”

Cat fight!

He is also concerned about Brit Brit’s reaction. Since Brit had panic attacks on set during her first weeks on set as a judge, this could send her over the edge. “She’s going to be devastated because she’s put her heart and soul into this,” he mused.

Cowell also pointed out that the British version of ‘The Voice’ failed miserably when it went against his ‘Britain’s Got Talent.’ So he thinks this move was personally motivated. He barked, “These guys have really got it in for us. It’s nothing short of dirty tricks.”

He reasoned that it is a move dictated by fear of how amazing Season 2 of ‘X’ is going to be, with its A-list judge additions. He said, “The reason they’ve done this is they don’t want people to see ‘X Factor’ because they’ve heard how good the series is. They don’t want their audience to see Britney Spears. They don’t want their audience to see Demi Lovato.”

Cowell isn’t mincing words and he isn’t going to have a meltdown, though. He’s just bitterly angry, saying, “I can’t bear it that the network is playing political games and playing with the audience.”

Our two cents on the matter? Three nights of any show in one week is overkill and not all fans have that type of time to commit or invest. NBC may very well have jumped the shark by fast tracking a third season of ‘The Voice,’ something that the coaches themselves balked at, since it interfered with their own careers.

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. The seasons start next week and producers don’t want viewers to be eX(Factor)hausted already. But chess moves like this certainly make that more of a possibility.

Watch the Latest Promo of ‘The Voice’

Watch the Latest Promo of the ‘X Factor’

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