Simon Cowell Goes Up Against Little Mix With New Show ‘The X Factor: The Band’

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – It’s Simon Cowell versus Little Mix in a battle of upcoming TV talent shows. Cowell is launching “The X Factor: The Band,” a new format for . The BBC recently announced “ The Search, ” fronted by the eponymous band, which first came to the public’s attention after winning “.”

Relations between Cowell and Little Mix have since soured. The group has split from his music label and worked up its talent show for the BBC.

Cowell has now upped the ante. A celebrity version of “The X Factor” is currently on air in the U.K. “The X Factor: The Band” will go out in December, said Talkback, the Fremantle-owned producer that makes the show. It would not reveal further details of the format, which is expected to scout for a new boy-band and a new girl-group. The show is set to go out of the gate ahead of Little Mix’s show, which is set to air in early 2020.

“ and ‘The X Factor’ have discovered some of the biggest pop groups in history, including One Direction, Fifth Harmony and Little Mix,” Talkback said. “Now the aim is to find the new superstar group – though now in record-breaking time.”

Cowell told The Sun that his idea for a competition for bands pre-dates Little Mix’s project. Speaking to the U.K. tabloid, he also acknowledged the competition with his former protegees. “It 100% makes it more exciting there being a battle,” he said.