The Voice vs. The X Factor. Christina vs. Britney.

TV's infatuation with singing competition shows reached its pinnacle last night, with NBC's Voice airing its third episode of the week in what was widely interpreted as a deliberate maneuver to blunt X Factor's season premiere on Fox. To a point, it worked.

Both programs averaged similar ratings (3.3) in the key 18-49 demographic, but The Voice outdrew The X Factor overall, 10.7 million viewers to 7.5 million.

The Voice did lose 17 percent of its audience from its Tuesday show and even more from its Season 3 premiere Monday night, while X Factor is back on tonight.

A few more auditions like Jillian Jensen or Jannel Garcia and Simon Cowell's much-hyped, revamped project could be back with a vengeance ... but stay tuned.

Ratings aside, there's certainly been some tension, even gamesmanship between the two shows, with Cowell calling out The Voice on more than one occasion.