Yep I agree,I still watch and enjoy the X-Factor,but this Flash Vote Nonsense is just rubbish and is just not working like you say

True. But people have always done that, it doesn't explain the huge drop in viewing figures.
I think it's a mixture of poor contestants and unappealing judges. The format is tired, but that has not prevented Strictly from attracting viewers..and that has remained basically unchanged.
X-Factor has lost that "water cooler" effect, how many 20-40 year olds still talk about it at work ?

Shock!!!! Show in its tenth series drops viewers

People know what's coming, they know that a judge, usually Louis, will make the cliche comments and the excitement is lost

American Idol in its 13th season has dropped viewers , Big Brother in its 13th regular series has dropped viewers

It's just one of those things that happens to some shows, it is still one the highest rated shows in the winter and it's likely they will beat Strictly tonight

According to ratings posted on the Ratings Thread, most of the viewers who have stopped watching this year are people aged 16 to 35. So it's the young people who have lost interest in this year's XF the most.

It's because tulisa has left and took her urban roots with her

These are the very people the show and it's advertisers are chasing so there must be a lot of gnashing of teeth going on behind the scenes.....very noticeable the show has become very youth orientated in the last couple of years (to absolutely no avail it seems).

People are out excuse doesn't really work, why did xfactor get higher ratings in previous years, are more people going out year on year?

The show isn't relevant for young people - the type of music/ songs/ the judges ...

I think becoming so youth orientated is what's damaged it the most. It's supposed to be a family show that can be enjoyed by people aged from eight to eighty, but in the past few years they've managed to alienated half of the audience, and the people who are most likely to be in on a Saturday night watching television.

Epic own goal on their part.

Strictly has been going as long and is still holding its audience.

I think it is an ok excuse to use because in my mind more people are going out. The seasons XF got massive ratings was during the beginning and middle of a recession and people stayed in to save money or they had no money to go out with. Now everyone knows UK is out of recession{although not out trouble either} Plus shows like Geordie Shore, Made in Chelsea, TOWIE in a way encourage more young people to go out because they see those people going out and the want to do it too ,even though the shows are crap they do serve a purpose. I think more people are going out, recording it and watching the next day either on record or watching the repeat on itv1 or Itv2 or just Youtube performances , not a massive amount but a good amount in my opinion anyway.Plus a young audience is the worst audience to have, they are unreliable.
I would be interested if ITV released what its most recorded show of the week was and what was its most watched show on the ITV player too and for BBC to do it too but with the iPlayer
The show needs Simon back next year so judges will most likely be, Simon-Nicole-?- Louis.

Young people have always gone out on Saturday nights, the recession didn't stop them, so I think that's quite a lame excuse personally.

Again I don't think it is a massively lame excuse I think more people go out now than they did from what I see anyway but thats just my opinion but I would still like to see what is more recorded and what is more watched on players, XF or SCD

I think their problem is that they're not attracting any new viewers. And what their viewers were doing ten years ago isn't what they're doing now.

I think its a double edged sword over the last two years.

They tried to make it urban and trendy in 2012 loads of older viewers switched off.

They went with dated themes and dated past it judges this year, in an attempt to get the older viewers back, the 16-35s switched off this year.

That probably accounts for about 4 million shedded these last two years

I don't think it's all about what the show is doing though. I do think it has a lot to do with people's lives changing. When X Factor was in it's peak me and my mum watched it together, I was still at school and didn't go out at the weekends. My fiends were the same, and often we all watched it together. Now I've moved out on my own, and I go out at the weekends. None of my friends watch it any more either, everyone is busy working or going out.

I can't speak for the older viewers, but I imagine people's lives change in ten years, and that's not always going to mean they still have time to watch X Factor on a Saturday night. At the same time, I don't think they're doing much to attract new viewers. The hype around the X Factor isn't what it used to be.

I would'nt be surprised if the show was scrapped at the end of this series, it looks a tired & worn format that seems to run out of ideas. I watched it all the way through last night for the first time this series & found my mind drifting from it, songs were nothing groundbreaking just the same old thing being delivered by the most personality void bunch i've seen, same old tired cliches from the judges & it made for very poor entertainment. It said it all when they interviewed James Aurthur looking glum & obviously been told what to say, it needs an injection of life to survive but there's no sign of it from this bunch.

You only watched a show all the way through once and you think it should be scrapped? It won't be scrapped but might be after 2014 t

Yes, it used to be far more interesting than the evidence i saw last night, like i said it looks a tired format & even the tinkering looks more like desperation, i for one won't be watching again this series as there's nothing in my mind worth watching on there, the acts are probably the most drab bunch ever to appear on there.

The standard this year is shocking. I imagine thats the main factor ratings are down

Strictly was the highest rated show of the day yesterday, not sure what X Factor got yet though.

X Factor 8.6m/8.9m with +1.

Strictly - 9.4m (38.4%)
X Factor - 8.9m (34.1%) inc. +1

Oops.

Even Downtown Abbey is more popular than The X Factor now

Ah, I love the show and I'm worried it doesn't have long left. I wish the producers would just get their act together and bring back the 2010 panel. The ratings would be far bigger.

Personally, the current panel is my all time favourite... but I seem to be in the minority with the ratings so low. The talent this year is actually very decent so I wouldn't put it down to that. It's a step up from last year and 2011.

It peaked at 10.3m so its not going anywhere. All it needs is Simon Cowell to come back and it will be better ratings.

Also new Drama the Paradice started and got 5.2m next week that will most likely be lower and X Factor higher

Wonder how the Cowell apologists will spin it today? They can't trot out the usual "young people going out" for a Sunday can they?