One thing that these stories are doing is creating a view that the overnights of BBC1 & ITV1 can't be compared equally as we are seeing now ITV1 are on the back foot before the schedule even gets created. A viewpoint which many here won't want to consider.

Well BB is more of a cult thing and has a similar diehard fanbase to shows like Doctor Who. TXF is just a Saturday night entertainment show, but BB is a cult. If you check out the microsite on here for BB, you will see people discussing housemates from 10 years ago in a way you would never see people talking about who came last in the first X Factor.
However, I'm not predicting an imminent demise for TXF. I reckon it should be good for another three series.

What does everyone think X Factor will get tonight will it be higher or lower then last week?

You’re comparing two different shows with two different audience profiles though (or at least they should have different audience profiles).

If you look at the 8-8:15 clash for the two shows last night there was a combined audience of about 18.5 million viewers. Outside of these Strictly/X Factor clashes when do BBC1 and ITV1 have combined audiences of more than 18 million viewers? And that was a combined share of 71.3% and when do we ever see that? People tend to dramatically overstate the audience crossover between Strictly and The X Factor. Obviously there is an audience crossover but we’re not talking half the audience here as it often feels like people suggest.

The point here being that I imagine The X Factor skews younger than Strictly (or at least it should) and certainly ITV need it to attract strong numbers in the key younger demos. The BBC don’t need that from Strictly so it can continue on with a large number of older viewers The X Factor not so much. It needs that publicity because it needs to be in the consciousness of the younger audience so that they’re talking about it and watching it. The big challenge for The X Factor (and it’s a challenge Strictly doesn’t face) is that it needs to stay relevant with a young audience.

Um Glenn. Big Brother used to get 5m. Now it only gets 1m. How can that be a diehard fanbase.

Moreover, the son in Moon and Son was played by John Michie and he went on to star in Taggart and is now married to the ex Cindy Beal (Michelle Collins) now Stella running the Rovers in Corrie.

There were 60,000 people watching it in the stadium in Cardiff according to the BBC so you can add that to any BARB figures

Be interesting to see the peak and match figure for 9-10.45pm, as they had an hour of analysis/previews too.


It is definately the talent that is lacking, as it was on Britain's Got Talent, so I hope Simon doesn't do anything stupid and like BGT blame it on the judges and get rid.

Long term though I still think the show is more likely to bounce back next year rather than continue to decline - but they do need to go back to basics and certainly get back to a top 12 rather than top 16, and sort out the groups and overs categories which are now really letting the show down.

The ones that watch it are the committed fans, the kind of people you find on the BB forum. It does say something that when Channel 4 announced they were cancelling it, the channel controller received death threats, which shows the fanatical following it has( in the same way Michael Grade received hate mail when he postponed Doctor Who in 1985). Should ITV finish TXF, it would be like Pop Idol going, just another weekend show being cancelled.

I think the poster meant viewing per night i.e BBC 3 figure is a sort of +2 or +2.5 for EE is in not?

Well you could say the 10m fans watching TXF are committed fans. Did the Channel 4 controller really revieve death threats?

I Agree. A Lot of people say it will go the same way as Big Brother. But X Factor and Big Brother are different type of shows. I Think it will be up by about 2% next year

Any show has it's time and X-Factor has been going 7 years now.

7 years is usually it for the mainstream audience.

I did hear it on Channel 5 news and there were reports that people were ringing Channel 4 in floods of tears. However, the nature of BB- a group of misfits trapped in a house for 12 weeks- is a totally different concept to a singing contest.
Anyway I still think TXF has a good few years in it yet and my suggestion about moving the Sunday episode to Fridays would make ITV1 invincible on that night.

True. But X Factor is showing no signs that it's had it's time its lower then last year yes but no crisis. As rzt said it will get higher once the show is shorter and we head in november.

Away from the X Factor stuff, I wonder what sort of ratings the return of the Walking Dead will get on AMC tonight? There could potentially be huge demo numbers, beating anything on network tv (unless the football is on tonight).

It's more likely at its peak now. I think it will be around for a few years yet and I would imagine Cowell will quit while he's ahead, rather than watch his show be ripped to shreds in the way BB was when ratings fell.
On a different note it does seem entertainment shows are back on top after a long period in the nineties and most of the noughties when the soaps dominated the ratings. I think with the amount of pessimism and misery in the news people are finding something like SCD far more entertaining than Eastenders.

In terms of primetime share %, September 2011 for ITV1 averaged 22.4% (exc +1). September 2010 averaged 22.7%, so it's roughly level year on year. The Rugby is only in daytime so would have no impact on the % shares.

The 9pm weeknight slot average has been very good recently- September 2011 had an average of 5.0m watching in the 9pm hour on weeknights, up from 4.2m last September. It was their best September by that measure since at least 2005. October 9pm slot also is carrying on that trend thus far, with what looks set to be their highest average in 9pm weeknight slot for this month since 2007.

The problem areas for them at the moment is quite big year-on-year soap declines right now, 10pm hour being down vs. last year, Tuesday and the Saturday night schedules being down too. Aside from those areas though, they have held up pretty well and I suspect even if you strip out the Rugby World Cup effect, their decline wouldn't have been down too much because primetime has held up fine on the whole recently.

Some satellite channels used to that.

Sky One's Thursday night comedy block with Friends, The Nanny and Seinfeld used to have two internal breaks and straight into the next show without a break.

UK Gold launched with this pattern, too. As did ABC1.

In those days Sky 1 didn't use break bumpers and sponsorship, so it was straight back into the programmes from the ads, like Sky News does now, so it flowed better.

Strictly does still compete for mindshare with the public so it needs column inches and press. The same papers that will have stories about The X Factor. I think the crossover with audiences is larger than we think.

You make it sound like the ratings have plummeted to catastrophic levels. A little perspective maybe - it's doing fine.

the ABC ad pattern annoyed me, the last break was simply TOO close to the end of the show, it would come to to the last 30 seconds and final credits.

5* has two ad breaks in Neighbours at 7pm, which is annoying as it means Neighbours runs to 19:32, clashing with the start of EastEnders.

I think TXF should focus on getting contestants with real quality, instead of little gimmicks like last week's 'shock'. These little gimmicks really serve to cheapen the show. As regards to BGT, I think it should bounce back reasonably well if they get decent acts.

Not many shows these days can boast of audiences of 10 million. I'm not a fan, but for revenue it's ITV's best friend. ( Actually I am far more of a BGT fan).
As for the comment about the audiences for soaps declining, has no one thought of adding the repeat showings and omnibuses into the totals.

I agree. Drama was the big thing of the 80's what with The Bill, Casualty, Juliet Bravo, Howard's Way and Bergerac.

The 90's were the docusoap era with Airport, Airline, Driving School etc as well as a massive drama era with classics like Cracker etc.

While the 2000's have been the reality show era with TXF, Pop Idol, Popstars, BGT, BB, I'm a Celeb amongst many others.

The question is, what will the 2010's be remembered for? Real-life semi-reality soap operas or whatever you call it, like The Only Way is Essex, Made in Chelsea, Geordie Shore etc?