They could move BGT if Cowell is not a judge.

Getting ALW would be a coup and they could easily get the same team who did Over the Rainbow but they need the right presenter who can bounce off ALW like Graham Norton did plus the right musical because the Grease one wasa good idea poorly executed.

I think Five should reconsider buying Big Brother and plough money into new and existing shows.

Davina's her own worst enemy ever since the horrendously biased interview she gave Makosi first time round she has failed to conceal any impartiality towards Housemates, and it's been a big failing on her behalf, she should try to remain impartial but in the last few years openly has declared her like/dislike of contestants and the show and closing interviews have lost any integrity as a result.

TBH noone cares anymore, UBB started out OK, but the genre is dead, well past it's sell past date, if it were rested for a few years it might have a short renaissance, but right now anyone who buys it must be out of their minds.

If C5 buy the rights to BB and air it next summer most people who have kicked up a fuss will have forgotten. I dont agree with what happened on Friday night but the only people talking about it are the diehard fans on these forums, who would all tune in again if it were on next summer.


Davina makes herself a target by saying who she likes and dislikes on BBBM and on her twitter. So in an instance like this fans have got the ammo they need.

I think Simon's already quit the audition stages of Britain's Got Talent - possibly he's giving ITV a way out if The X Factor isn't being aired next year.

Mind you, before the News of the World article, I thought the plan was to air The X Factor from November next year?

Maybe? Alot of people left after the first disastrous Makosi interview only to dip in and out thereafter, right now there are only about 2-2.5m hardcore fans, and that's on Ch4, will be interesting to see how many would watch on 5?

It's a dying format anyway. C5 would be better seeking out fresh ideas.

As you say there are 2-2.5m hardcore fans watching. A big percentage of them will follow it to C5. 1.5m+ a night for C5 for 3 months in the summer sounds great for them.


A dying format it may be but if C5 can get a good deal and money is to be made then why not? Its not like C5 have an upmarket reputation to uphold.

I'm not really sure about that NOTW article. And as it stands, the most obvious option seems to be that Simon keeps doing BGT but quits X Factor - or significantly reduces his on-screen role. Unlike Idol, they've got Cheryl as another A List star on the show so all they need to find is someone with a bit of authority (which Cheryl lacks) to lead the panel. And FOX are unlikely to be thinking too much about X Factor just now.

And on that note, Kara DioGuardi has quit American Idol. In much the same way that Coolio quit Big Brother. But there was a nice statement in which everyone said lots of nice things about each other. That's the 4th judge out in a year:

Paula Abdul - Quit (new show - Got To Dance - on CBS)
Simon Cowell - Quit (new show - The X Factor - on FOX)
Ellen DeGeneres - Ended 5 year deal after 1 by mutual agreement
Kara DioGuadi - Fired

Nigel Lythgoe is back however. Confirmed as Exec Producer alongside Ken Warwick, Simon Fuller and Cecile Frot-Coutaz. And while Fuller did quit as CEO of 19 Entertainment, he continues as Exec Producer - he's in a bidding war to buy the parent company of 19, CKX.


The problem for Nadia has been that she only won in 2004 because she and the public shared in her secret. But without that, she's actually not that pleasant or interesting. So she has probably had quite a shock if she didn't realise that she wouldn't do so well this time around. Especially if she actually thought that she was the "nations sweetheart" in 2004, which is just a touch of an exaggeration.

I'm just finding the whole thing a bit peculiar to say the least. Her friend posting his suicide fears on Digital Spy forums and her telling the Daily Star that she wants to kill herself?

But I do believe that she's very pi*sed off. Whether or not she was any more vulnerable this time than in 2004 isn't really something I'd feel qualified to judge.

I think this is just the kind of thing that has lead to the end. The whole fame whore thing that surrounds it. I think if Five buy it, it will fail. This is being billed as the end. It's "ultimate" Big Brother and even CBB was full of nostalgia. They can't just show up next summer on a new channel as though 2010 never happened.

A similar format would be fine. But not the same brand. They need their own hits to build the channel.

Airing it from November does make most sense, as with the auditions and IAC ITV's Autumn should still be strong. I'd move IAC to October and have live trials on Saturdays so that could take X Factor's 8pm slot for a few weeks.

I'd also run BGT through the Summer on Saturdays and Sundays for 9 weeks. They could have 4 weeks of auditions, a "bootcamp"
week and 4 weeks of live shows. The format could be that 40 acts get to the live shows as usual but would be split into 4 groups of 10, and the first 2 weeks of the lives would be these 4 shows (Saturday and Sunday, 2 hours each including results). 5 would go through from each show creating a top 20 to perform in week 3, again in 2 heats of 10. 5 acts would again go through from each show creating a top 10 for the final, which would be split across the weekend with performances on Saturday and results on Sunday, 2 hours each again. It's milking it, but they don't have much of a choice.

They'd have to coast through April-June on Saturdays but splitting DOI across the weekend would help so some stuff could be saved for the Spring. They'd just have to milk stuff like the All Star gameshows as they always do OK and it's only for one year as DOI would be knocked back to the Spring in 2012. Sundays would be fine with the 2 hour dramas for most of the year after DOI tbh with BGT in the Summer and they'll have Doc Martin in the Autumn, and Primeval could step in to the free 8pm slit before it as it'll be ready to go by then for series 5. Again it isn't ideal but it's decent and probably the best they can do, although running Primeval and The Cube alongside a new younger skewing comedy on Sundays in the Autumn and airing Doc Martin in the week could also work.

Also, I'm pretty sure Cowell will stay on BGT, partly as ratings would drop without him and with his schedule there is no reason for him to go but also for familiarity as it'll look different next year with Piers gone, and Amanda's future on it is also uncertain due to her role in Shrek The Musical.

Wow - I didn't realise that Ellen was off Idol. I liked her last season. Idol really is going a bit crazy at the moment. They're obviously sh*t scared of the ratings and hoping bringing in big names will get people to tune in just to see 'what they will be like'.

If I'm honest - AI needs an overhaul. Keep Seacrest and Randy, but replace the logo, it looks dated and hasn't been properly updated since the days of Pop Idol 10 years ago.

They need to sort out their boot camp phase, because that is where X Factor will thrive. I'd do what Got To Dance/Must Be The Music do and get a shortlist, cut some immediately, and then let the other's have a performance in front of the judges, where they are immediately told if they are being cut. They do another cut until they get to the final acts. Also, scratch the Top 24-Top 12 live shows. They're boring and add nothing to the show. Just dive straight in to the Top 12.

When you put it like that it sounds simple. But this is ITV we're talking about, they're bound to over complicate things by refusing to run Dancing on Ice over the weekend, then keeping Britain's Got Talent to a week long final resulting in huge gaps on Saturday's where they will air films that flop horribly and 'new' gameshows which don't even hit 4m at launch. They will then recomission Heartbeat and The Bill to run on Sunday's and then promptly axe them when they don't hit the 9m required. Another soap hour will be placed on Saturday night - between 7 and 8 - in order to help the schedule (extra episodes, you understand, not just moving exisiting ones around) followed by Ant and Dec's Paint Drying where the Geordie duo watch paint dry until 9pm where ITV will be hoping to find another Bourne film somewhere to put at 9pm.

And all this because The X Factor has to move to November. At least it should be fun on here...

I start to think that C5 after this will go nowhere near BB, its too risky for them, they can bring out fresh ideas out of the show BUT would they risk the amount of complainers the show gets?

I feel deeply for Nadia, I would say she is worried most about how the editing of the fight her and Coolio had, he kept saying things like "Ohh dont get angry, your penis might go back into your body"... they didnt show the apparant bulying she recieved on the show and made her look like she over reacted to the show incident.

BB11 was quite free from complaints, but what do they expect when they put in contreversial housemates into a house together. Davina is being targetted for her treatment of Makosi and Nadia.

Its basically all falling apart.... who would want a show like that?

Won't BBC One Scotland airing EastEnders at 9.30pm last Friday affected the rating much?

That wouldn't have affected it too much I don't think.

For some reason I cant make the NOTW link work and also cant get on to the NOTW site at all. I have found a quote of the report on another site and the suggestion of the 100 part time workers being told they are not needed is quite telling-though ofcourse it has to be true in the first place.

Not just you Chris, the NOTW site seems to be down this end as well.

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Dan.
How will the final Big Brother, Peggy's EastEnders exit and the return of New Tricks rate? Submit your predictions now. >>

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I'm against the idea of moving the other shows (DOI/BGT) around to suit The X Factor. ITV risk losing viewers of all three of them (and other entertainment shows) if they make big changes to their schedules by moving DOI to Spring and/or BGT to summer. It's almost a certainty DOI and BGT wouldn't rate as well in those months compared to how they're doing at the moment. Would it be worth changing the scheduling for all three programmes to suit TXF? I'm not sure.

I think what ITV needs to do is prepare phasing out Simon Cowell from the X Factor. Obviously that's pretty major for the show but he's going to have to leave the show one day and I think next year is a good time to start putting the wheels in motion.

Basically what I think they should do for the next series, is keep X Factor scheduled as it is right now (late August to December) so that ITV can still have a good number of viewers during the weekends in Autumn. Have Simon Cowell judge in the auditions stage to initially bring in the viewers and to make sure there's a stable audience heading into the live shows. And then for the live shows, bring in a new judge to replace Cowell. This judge could be introduced in the 'Judges Houses' stage and work with Simon to pick the final 3 acts from a category. Essentially it would be a gradual change happening during the series which I think is the best way of doing it if they want to retain as many viewers possible. It's likely the ratings for the live shows would be down compared to previous year but at the end of the day, it's much less risky doing it this way than moving around many different programmes throughout the year. If they're that desperate for Cowell to have some kind of on-screen involvement with the live shows, they could even have a 2-minute recorded VT or a live satellite link-up featuring him on each results show giving his views on the previous day's performances. Or have him appear as a 'guest judge' on a week or two in late-November/early-December after XFUSA ends. There's different possibilities.

The following year, Cowell wouldn't be involved at all but by then viewers should be used to him not being on the show. If The X Factor USA bombs (which could happen, though unlikely), there's always the option of Cowell returning to TXF in Autumn 2012 and ITV's core schedule would be the same as it has been for the last 7 years and it'll all be back to normal.

ITV has to decide what's more important to them: keeping Cowell and having TXF keep similar ratings but losing something like 5% for other shows which would be affected by the change in scheduling such as: BGT, DOI, Cube, Mr & Mrs, Take Me Out, Ant & Dec's PTB/SNT, etc. Or phase out Cowell, risk losing a portion of TXF's audience (maybe 10% initially?) but keeping viewers steady for all those other shows and being in a better position if XFUSA flops. I reckon the second option is better for them.

I see your point rzt but I disagree. I don't think BGT would lose too many viewers by swapping from April-May to July-August as in the last few years the weather has been better in the Spring than the Summer so it wouldn't be dented by that. Also, using the plan I suggested earlier ITV would gt an extra 6-7 hours out of it so even if the ratings did drop a little it'd be fine. I think that X Factor would lose something in the region of 15-25% of its viewers if Cowell left, whilst DOI would lose 10-15% of its audience by moving to the Spring I think. So it boils down to X Factor losing 15-25% of its audience or DOI losing 10-15%. I think it's clear what ITV would prefer. I'd also move IAC to October but I doubt that would affect its ratings. So therefore next year i think they should go:

Saturday

January-March
Primeval (Jan-Feb)
You've Been Framed (Feb-Apr)
Harry Hill's TV Burp (Feb-Apr)
Dancing on Ice (Jan-Mar)
New 9:30pm entertainment show (Comedy Rocks?)

April-June
You've Been Framed (Apr)
Harry Hill's TV Burp (Apr)
Take Me Out
All Star Mr and Mrs (May-Jul)
Piers Morgan's Life Stories (Apr-May)
Champions League Final
Euro 2012 Qualifier
Football event (postponed from this July, one off in June)
Harry Hill's The Best of TV Burp (Jun-Jul)
Best of An Audience With (Jun-Jul)

July-August
Britain's Got Talent
2 new entertainment shows (7pm and 9pm)

September-October
All Star Family Fortunes
I'm A Celebrity (Oct)
Piers Morgan's Life Stories
Take Me Out (shorter, 6 part run)
Movie Premiers (The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia, Quantum of Solace, The Mummy 3)

November-December
The X Factor
Jonathan Ross
All Star Family Fortunes

I know April-June looks a bit limp but it's only for one year as DOI would be there in 2012 and the line-up I've suggested is still decent enough.

Sunday

January-March
All Star Family Fortunes
Dancing on Ice
Wild At Heart

April-June
The Royal
2 hour dramas (Vera, Lewis, Agatha Christie)

July-August
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Britain's Got Talent
One off specials at 9pm

September-October
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Foyle's War (Sep)
The Cube (Oct)
I'm A Celebrity (Oct)
New comedy (Oct)

November-December
The Cube
Primeval
New comedy (start in Oct)
The X Factor (Dec)

To me, that looks stable enough for ITV to enjoy a decent year, and would also help them get a couple of new shows off the ground as well.

Dancing on Ice couldn't work in the spring, thats just a stupid suggestion. Its a winter themed show. If it gets pushed from its Sunday slot in 2012 then they should move it to a Tuesday or Thursday from 8-10pm. The only other option is to axe it.

Then they'd have Dancing on Ice and X Factor running simultaneously, an even more stupid suggestion. DOI does work well in the Winter but it doesn't have to air there, it would work OK in the Spring.

As already said, spring tends to be hotter than summer these days so having a show that is designed for the middle of winter at the hottest time of the year is ridiculous. The equivalent is having every show on TV getting their Christmas decorations out in July, it couldn't be more inappropriate. It would almost certainly drop to around 5m.

It doesn't matter if Dancing on Ice runs simultaneously to X Factor, DOI is low profile anyway and if its getting ITV 7m+ in hard slots as well as phone revenue, I doubt they'd be too bothered.

Wonder how A Bouquet of Barbed Wire will do remember as millions still remember the controversial original?

DOI would not drop to 5m in the Spring. 7m possibly but not 5m, but it would probably drop to 7m in the slots you've suggested anyway, and ITV would probably rather have the 7m at the weekend in the Spring than midweek in the Winter as they can find other things to go there, and they'd have to move the soaps again with DOI there.

I do agree that it suits the Winter, but it isn't specifically Winter themed so it would be fine in the Spring.

As for Bouquet of Barbed Wire, it's got big names in it and ITV have even invested in cinema advertising so they must have high hopes for it. 5-6m seems most likely.

I like Rzt's idea. Especially when XF US doesn't have a long term future, it seems a bit dramatic to change everything.

If they do it properly, they can get some hype around the new guy and have a smooth transition as well. If viewers have watched up to judges houses, I can't see a huge % turning off just because Cowell won't be in the next episode so long as they do it right. And if they get it right, it would actually give the show a whole new energy as well.

Just make sure they pay Cheryl enough to keep her around because without Cowell, the press she creates will be even more important than it is now.

PS: Are we getting any ratings today? I was looking forward to Robbie's dramatic post about X Factor's 2 million year-on-year decline!