Simon Cowell Furious About 'The Voice' Overlapping With 'X Factor'

Simon Cowell is seething over NBC's decision to pit The Voice against his own X Factor when both shows premiere their new seasons next week, TMZ reports. Instead of airing just Monday and Tuesday, The Voice will stretch to Wednesday, which is the same night X Factor premieres on Fox.

Cowell, who created and is a judge on X Factor, said NBC's programming decision was "a cynical, cold-hearted, unprofessional way of doing business" that will force fans to pick between the two shows – and possibly reignite a rivalry between Christina Aguilera, who is on The Voice, and Britney Spears, who makes her debut as a judge on X Factor.

"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," Cowell said. 

Cowell also believes NBC's move is personal, especially after his show Britain's Got Talent crushed The Voice in the ratings when the latter went head-to-head with the former in the U.K. 

"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," he said. "They don't want their audience to see Britney Spears. They don't want their audience to see Demi Lovato."