Sky only did F1 Digital + for one season - in 2002. It didn't return for 2003 onwards.

the problem with going for actual real popstars with the real X-Factor, is that those people may well look down on X-Factor and would not appear on the show, as it would basically be them selling out.

Indeed. Ratings were excellent for the 1996 season in which Damon Hill won the world championship. The Monaco Grand Prix grabbed 6.73 million I think, on BBC1. Ratings dropped for the 1997 season when ITV got the rights, but they still managed 5.78 million for the title decider in Jerez.


Channel 4 couldn't commit, for whatever reason.

Sky also want to launch this F1 channel on Freeview supposedly (as a pay channel). I'd love to know where the capacity is going to come from.

It's absurd that such a channel which sounds like a BBC Red Button style offering would launch on DTT ahead of Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 4, and I'm willing to bet this channel won't be free to subscribers of Sky Sports 1 and 2 which are currently operated by BT.

One thing about The X Factor that has The X Factor!!!! is the production values - big studio; noisy, enthuiastic audience. It makes the programme Event TV.

Som people complained when they switched the auditions from a small room in front of the judges to a large studio with a studio audience, but this change clearly played a significent part in the programme soaring to new heights in the ratings.

Simon Cowell keeps saying he has to continually make the programme bigger and better to keep the programme fresh and, by association, the ratings massive. That hasn't happened this year. So if Simon wants to reverse the downfall, he has to think bigger and better. And one way to do that is to go for a judging panel of big A-listers. True, Gary Barlow qualifies as an A-lister and that hasn't worked too well, but maybe it would have if he'd been sitting alongside Cheryl, Beyonce and Mick (or Louis Walsh Not necessarily an A-lister, but he knows how to approach the programme.)

It's maybe the show needs a revamp. Bringing back Simon and Cheryl would be a start and maybe cutting out the boot camp and shortening the length of the shows would be a good idea.
Mind you how many shows have had 17.5 million viewers in recent years.

Not quite sure I would put Valencia or Abu Dhabi in my top 10...

Thanks to Matt J for this. These are official ratings.

Saturday 19 November Finals
1...Strictly Come Dancing - 12.27m (44.6%)
2...The X Factor - 11.70m (38.8%) [+1: 311k]
3...I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here - 9.18m (33.1%) [+1: 482k]
4...Merlin - 7.00m (23.9%)

Strictly beatingThe X Factor in the final ratings including +1 for the first time in years!

Bringing Simon and Cheryl back would be a start, but it's a....well.....non-starter. XF US may not be doing all that well (against expectations) but it's still been renewed for a second season and he's still going to be working on that when the next UK series is underway. And there's just no way that Cheryl is going to go back as a judge.

All attempts to get her back including some big money offers were turned down back in the summer. It wasn't just what Simon did that's the issue IMO. The way it was all handled so unprofessionally by SyCo/Freemantle etc at the time means she's just not going to go back. Plus what would be her incentive to now anyway? She obviously doesn't need the money given the offers she turned down for this year.She was a big part of the show's growth to the mammoth proportions it reached last year and now it appears to be on the slide. It's never going to reach those levels again even if it does bounce back a bit from this year.

I give major props to Dannii and Cheryl. I'm a fan of Cheryl I'll admit, but I didn't give either of them enough credit for the way they handled all of the crap that comes attached with doing the show. Dannii has spoken quite openly about how high pressured it all is and Cheryl dealt with a lot of tabloid bs in her final year. I think the judges this year haven't handled it all nearly so well and it's making me appreciate the job they did even more in hindsight.

I'd argue the top races would be Australia (opening Grand Prix), Monaco, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Singapore, United States and Brazil (closing Grand Prix) due to prestigiousness and race times. I'd add China and India to the eight to give an even spread to the calendar so the BBC don't go more than two races without one live.

Instead they have Spain, Europe, Korea and Abu Dhabi...I suppose Sky insisted on having Canada and United States exclusively due to the fact they'll be raced later in the day.

Does anyone know how The X Factor final figure is measured, please - does it take into account the Sunday/ITV2 repeats or just the official figure from the Saturday show plus HD plus +1 plus ITV Player?

I'd just like to know; I'm not going to start adding everything together so The X Factor beats Strictly.

Repeats stopped being added to first screening figures in 2002, I think.

Thanks.

ITV did the right thing by signing up Murray Walker so it was like the BBC with adverts rather than hire an unknown. However, F1 rejuvenated Jim Rosenthal's career as he seemed to be fading due to ITV ditching athletics and boxing and fair play to him for taking on a sport he knew little about.
Sport seems to be a decent earner for ITV if they get the right contracts and attracts viewers like ABC1 males that don't often watch ITV1.

lets face it the whole moving Cheryl to the US X-Factor was a stupid decision in the first place, and its hurt the UK show, bringing her back next year seems like a good idea, but if Cheryl not wanting to work for Simon (on X-Factor) anymore is genuine, then that decision may come back to haunt Simon in a big way.

Simon had every reason to want this year to be successful, he knows if he put in the work now, it would mean the show could carry on independent of him, so he can focus on the US show, he will be very disappointed that he will need to start over with UK X-Factor next year, and attempt again to get it right, when he would rather be focusing on the US show.

X Factor is just in a mess on both sides of the pond right now.

Ratings are awful in America, sub 9 million for the latest outing if Wiki is to be believed; with under 10 million here.

TXF is, no matter what people try to say, about the judges- it is what gets people excited about the show. As much as I love Kelly Rowland on the panel, she would be much more suited to the American version.

The American X Factor is sorely missing an A-Lister- American Idol has J-Lo, The Voice has Xtina whilse TXF has Nicole Scherzinger - Kelly Rowland, is not in the same league as those two, but she is certainly better than Nicole S.

At least Cheryl was a completely new person to Americans and isn't seen as a failure- Nicole is.

An American panel of Cheryl,Kelly,Simon and LA, with a UK panel of Nicole,Tulisa,Louis and Gary would have worked out quite nicely in my opinion.

I wonder if this is hurting Cowell as XFUSA didn't do as well as he thought and Red or Black lost half its audience during its run. Although his two main British shows still do well, 2011 hasn't been his year.

In terms of the shows that have been upset by The X Factor USA upheaval only Britain's Got Talent has come out of it relatively unscathed (and a panel of Minogue/Holden (Guest)/Walliams should steady it at the very least next year). The X Factor UK has become a shadow of what it once was and The X Factor USA hasn't taken off.

But to be honest I think the bigger problem is the UK version. The money's in the US but that's been given another season; the show didn't take off Down Under or here straight away and had to build so it should be given time in the States...but here it's established and it has a new rival in The Voice just when it doesn't need it.

For me, despite seemingly being in a more stable position, I think the UK version is in more jeopardy and needs more focus than the US version because the US version can change without the viewers having seen it before; the UK version doesn't have that luxury.

I think it will be; he won't say anything publicly, but how can it not. TXF is his baby and it has floundered in America, and he is largely to blame- what was he thinking Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger for what he wanted to be the best show in America. Paula worked back at the start of AI, but her act grew tired- her shows out of AI didnt work, and her acts have all been eliminated from TXF.

A little perspective is needed.

'Ratings are awful in America' - no they're not. It's definitely not a flop; every rating has been above a 3.0 (apart from this week, which was Thanksgiving affected). Sub-9 million isn't unusual for America either - and actual ratings in millions is irrelevant to the success of a programme in terms of renewals. I agree, however, it has been a slight disappointment, but with a show in its first series, by no means a failure.

I agree that the judges are vital - Kelly's good but needs to tone down the 'Americanness'. Nicole shouldn't have been hired in the first place - she was never good on The Sing Off. And Paula shouldn't be on the panel - her and Simon together make the programme look like a poor Idol ripoff.

It should have been:

UK - Louis, Dannii, Tulisa and another male judge, not Gary.
USA - Kelly, Simon, LA and another female judge.

I think he'll be privately fuming at FOX to be honest. I think Cheryl would've done a better job than Nicole (and I wouldn't have said that six months ago) and given the show some spark. To be honest, I don't think Paula's done a bad job this year though she should have never been given the Groups.

I wonder how much pressure ITV are putting on him to get The X Factor right over here? There's been a lot of talk about Simon being angry with the ratings etc. but ITV themselves cannot be happy.

agreed the US version has room to grow and find its line up, where as the UK show may have had its best line up, and viewers expect alot more of it.

IAC is 10 years old, and still capable of pulling in audiences of around 8m nightly for 3 weeks. Casting is key but I think it will be around as long as Ant & Dec want to do it. XF is having a weak year, and come out of it's own ratings stratosphere to 'just' become one of an exclusive number of very high rating shows. A bit knee-jerk to suggest that either are nearing the end of their life.

However, what should be coming along now is the next generation of these big entertainment shows that can pick up the mantle, when ultimately todays 'big guns' are put out for retirement.

Difficult to know what those will be, given that dancing, ice dancing, singing, variety formats have been covered, with ITV & BBC committing to new dancing & singing shows next year.

(When & what is the ITV dancing show by the way - I don't recall)

I am by no means an American ratings expert; I do know though that less than 8 million viewers is awful for a show that was expected to get nearer to 20 million.

ITV haven't actually commissioned a new dance show for next year. It's just the production arm, ITV Studios, have got the worldwide distribution rights of 'The Ultimate Dance Battle' which is a new format that aired in Holland a few months ago. It doesn't necessarily mean the show will air on ITV1, indeed it might not even be picked up by a British broadcaster at all.

You're right, that pretty much everything that could be done with talent competitions, has been done - dancing, singing, variety, ice skating, circus acts, even opera. There's not much else that can be done! Finding a hit non-reality Saturday night entertainment show must be the toughest thing for commissioners. Arguably, the last show of this type to get big ratings was Saturday Night Takeaway which started 9 years ago. Hardly anything since has really hit those kind of levels. Who knows what the next big thing will be! But as you say, the broadcasters need to get them through soon, because shows like XF/SCD/IAC/BGT aren't going to last forever.