I think there are a few changes with this new voting system that they are trying to bring in.

1) Obviously it brings in more phone revenue from people dialling instantaneously when the last performance is over. This was the aim last year too when they opened the lines at the start of the show.

2) It encourages people to watch the show live, rather than record it and skip the ads (which is what I do and what nearly everyone I know does too). Better live figures, more online as it happens engagement etc...

3) It makes the results a bit easier to manipulate. I suspect Maloney's dominance of the voting last year has made them want to reform the vote. More than likely it will be the younger portion of the audience voting in the 'flash' time frame. Whereas last year the He Who Must Not Be Named's support were... eh of a 'greyer' profile and they are the longer term voters, likely to be phoning in as the night/day goes on rather than straight after the performances. Also it gives huge weight to the late slots in the show where the producers can stick those they want safe. This was diminshed to an extent last year when they opened the lines earlier. Really they've come up with a solution to all of the voting headaches from last year in one fell swoop.

It could also be seen as unfair, as the act that has the lowest votes on the Saturday will get over a day to practise their sing off song further (they obviously rehearse it during the week), while the act on Sunday will only get a few minutes or so to compose themselves.

Not to mention that the act that goes on last is almost guaranteed to top the vote.

Then again, a 10 minute voting window didn't dent Britain's Got Talent in the early days. It will be interesting to see how it appears.

I wasn't too keen on the idea that they opened the phone lines before the performances last year, as it almost turned it into a popularity contest.

Saturdays obviously timeshift better than Sundays, but this may well be their idea to maximise the rating on the night. I'm sure they'll be hoping that it works out well.

Even if X Factor isn't the ratings monster it once was, they currently have three shows on a Saturday night which they can rely on to get at least 7m. Britain's Got Talent, X Factor and Saturday Night Takeaway are those - and I'm sure ITV will be happy with their current position.

It usually does go up at judges houses, but the clashes this weekend on both nights will hurt it a fair bit.

I Know but its still a ratings giant. The way some people go on they act like it will be the last year but itv won't do that

I had occasion to watch the show this weekend.

It looked very stilted and looked completely without any atmosphere, as it had the life sucked out of it.

I don't think any minor adjustments to the format will help it any.

They just need the viewers to connect with the acts.

Do you think Simon returning to the panel, and probably having more of a say in what goes on behind the scenes, will help the show?

The X Factor is never going to be massive again - the only way I could see it competing with Strictly, at least temporarily, would be for Simon to return (may well happen next year if the USA version is cancelled). It's still a successful show though and to be perfectly honest I don't think there's much more to say at this point, it's becoming rather tiresome on both sides. An episode falling to 7.5m doesn't mean a cancellation announcement is imminent, nor does an episode rising to 9.5m mean the show is number one again. The show has seemingly found its level of around 8.5m and I think it will stay there for the foreseeable future. Look at it this way, ten years is impressive for any show and the heights of the show were massive - I doubt we'll be seeing anything of the sort again for a while. Unfortunately the higher you go, the steeper you fall.

Any fluctuation is interesting to analyse but I think people giving ideas as to how the show could noticeably improve the ratings in the long run is unfortunately too hopeful and unrealistic. People know whether the show is for them or not by now and it's just not must see television anymore. The X Factor brand as a whole has become too polarising and you can see that in the way people react to the show. It's not like Strictly or even Britain's Got Talent where people think "this is a nice show, I'll give it a watch" - with The X Factor people are either "I love this show so much, it's so exciting" or "I hate this show - why is it still going on?" The Voice is suffering the same fate.

I don't think any new twist will help or hinder ratings that much, although they definitely have been clever in choosing it. The peak of the weekend in the ratings is almost always the result and now people have to stay until the end of the Saturday show to get a good half of it live. Time will tell - it will be interesting to see the breakdown of the first live show.


I have to say I agree. The direction the show has taken definitely won't be for everyone although I still enjoy it personally. Ballroom dancing is definitely not my thing but I could sit through an episode of Strictly just because of the energy of the show, it's so positive and fun and almost makes you interested in something you couldn't care less about. The X Factor was never intended to be lighthearted but it's lost the little spark of it that it did have which makes a huge difference.

Probably will or won't work in X Factor's favour, but Brucie's taking Saturday night off I believe.

As mentioned, as long as it is stable throughout, then I think ITV will be happy. Don't know why people like Samuel can't seem to understand that.

Realistically, I think X Factor may struggle to break even 8m tonight given the Strictly clash.

8.4m inc. +1, fantastic result to be up on last week even despite the lengthy clash. Thought it would be a good million below that.

Up on last week at the very least.

It could have been higher if the show that preceded it got more than 2.95m (inc +1).

It will easily be above 9m tonight but part of me still wants the ratings to go up slightly when the live shows come about. It probably won't happen but as long as they stay around 8-9m they should be fine.

I don't think it could have been higher at all. There just isn't big enough of an audience pre-8pm to counteract Strictly and the ones that are there tend to just turn on their TV at 8pm to watch X Factor.

I expected something below 7.5m considering the clash so 8.4m is a good result and ITV can be pleased.

What audience did Strictly get?

9.3m. It was obviously going to be higher.

9.3m.

X Factor does need a good warm-up show to be fair - like it had a few years ago with TV Burp.

The peak may well have been pretty high in comparison to the average.

10 million peak

Better than i expected for XFactor. But it was still down from every series since 2009.

Why do you feel the need to point this out? We know it's down.

The auditions, according to some people, were up compared to 2012. So there is no guarantee that XF judges houses was going to be down from 2012. But it is something I need to point out so that everyone is aware.

Not according to some people - the auditions were actually up on 2012. It's a fact.

We could come up with many reasons as to why it has dipped slightly since but let's leave it at that.

I don't think it will either. The format is tired, the manipulation far too overt and transparent and the winners aren't taken seriously.

I think the latter plays a big role, a lot of people I know always bring up Leona and Alex, comparing them to the other winners. They are the real winners, the others are just people who happened to win the vote but shouldn't kind of thing.

I think the show needs to consistently (say every other year) get a strong, polished winner that can be taken seriously as a real talent, else the illusion is broken.

If you keep getting fodder winners then the shows premise doesn't work. We are long overdue a winner like them.

X Factor literally has zero chance against STCD now. STCD is the biggest show on television. Why? I do not know. I'm a little disappointed really because there is no chance that The X Factor will ever be the top show, for this year at least. The show will never be as big as it was once was until Simon and Cheryl return. If they return then I'm confident The X Factor would be huge. Cheryl has apparently signed on with 1D's management and has allegedly asked them to organise an X Factor return and a music comeback. It wouldn't surprise me; the management company are directly linked to Cowell through 1D and Olly Murs. Maybe they'll both be back

Cowell won't be back unless XF USA fails and he realises he has nowhere to go. This show does need him to be fair.

I think for this year, a rise throughout the live shows is out of the question.

That said, it has the chance to rule Sundays anyway.