Its XFactors own fault it doesnt appeal to all generations of viewers. Old people dont like it because it is too controversial, loud and shouty. If they made it a classier production and got rid of the rent-a-mob crowd, they would have a better chance of appealing to older viewers and helping boost XFs ratings.

Most posts have summed it up.

I'd also like to add, don't be fooled into thinking it'll get any better in years to come, ITV are in charge and they're as shallow and manipulative as they come, trash tv is what they excel at.

I think SCD is more popular because it focuses on entertaining the TV audience.

The contestants on X Factor possibly forget there's a TV audience, otherwise they wouldn't pick such dreary self-indulgent songs and comment afterwards "well, I enjoyed myself!"

Yeah well, I didn't.

it's fun, it's familiar what with having mostly all the same faces (and darcy seems to have slotted in relatively well, even if there's something i don't quite like about her), everyone clearly gets on and has great relationships - evident in all the banter they have with each other. it's a higher standard of talent really too, given that you can really see how much they all work, the originality in each routine and the improvement each week. x factor contestants seem to stay at a particular level throughout.
i also like the judging system a lot better. 4 objective judges, each with their own distinct characters that ALL bring something to the table (rather than just gary [voice of reason who can often give technical feedback] and nicole [brilliant eccentricity. may not be quite sure what she's on, but it's entertaining to watch. sometimes a hot mess] on x factor) they don't have any kind of mentor bias, which also eliminates the inter-judge fighting, so they can each give their own honest opinions, but still work as a unit.

an overall lighter, warmer, more family friendly feeling to finish and voila.

The decline started last year when they decided to be more "relevant", which meant more songs that were current and less classics.

The only problem is that this alienated the people who were actually watching the show, older people, in favour of people who wouldn't be watching it, because they're out with their friends.

There's also the current infatuation with joke contestants that get a bit of publicity but help the show lose any credibility it had, and of course crap judges like Tulisa and Louis.

I don't know anyone who actually watches Strictly.

I started watching Strictly as its a fun, positive, upbeat programme. X Factor started to feel negative and way too contrived. In 2010 I thought they pushed it too far, certain acts were very clearly favoured and when somebody like Waissel keeps ending up in the bottom 2 then surely the public are showing they dont want to watch her every week but yet they just follow their own script. Then there was moments like not telling us there was going to be a sing-off. I wish the show was a bit more honest and let US make the choices rather than trying to manipulate things a certain way all the time.
They do things at the time for headlines and controversy but in the longrun it harms the show as people see it more and more as a pantomime rather than a proper talent show
Strictly is good fun, its less of the pantomime and contrived moments, and its a good production.

Well someone somewhere must be watching it if its getting 10 million viewers a week

I know lots of people who watch it BTW.

Well done.

Strictly has created more watercooler talk. At my work it seems that more people are talking about Strictly and it's old and young male and female. Strictly seems more lighthearted and less predictable, you can laugh at someone's crap dancing one week then applaud how good they've been the next week
The only thing people talk about for X factor is 'OMG who's voting for Christopher Maloney' no mention of anyone who they like. I don't think there's been enough talent on Xfactor to generate as much buzz as previous years

Look at the contestants this year on xfactor and the reat is obvious.

Can't really add much input into this , Im really not a huge tv person, other than X Factor, never watched Strictly, dont watch BB or the jungle, I dont go anywhere near soaps either, no eastenders, no corrie , no towie, my TV is rarely on unless there is a movie on that I want to see lol

I have hobbies and interests , if i don't have some project going on with my house then i have a project outside my house, TV really is not a huge part of my life