You jest, its as trite, contrived and dishonest as it always was only its obvious now. The only reason I watch is because I keep hoping they will follow American Idol and get some decent artists out of it and not a bunch of 'relevant' and controllable cookie cutters.

lets see how many stick with it to the end of the series, tired show, tired presenter tired panel

The new panel is working and Simon's idea seems to be paying off at the moment long way still to go though of course

Oh please! Don't you have anything better to do? Anyways, i think I stand for most X Factor fans by saying this series is one of the best in years. You might not like it, but millions do. Ratings are up and the reception is superb. So tired its ratings are rocketing...

Disingenuous thread. Last year it dropped 2 million to 8.4. So not much to crow about there. It just means that at this point it hasn't gained or lost.

Well to be fair since it has been declining every year it is definitely significant that it has stabilised this year. No need to rain on the parade so much. The show is in better shape even from a quality and production POV.

Again you jest.

O Please so don't post the same crap in multiple threads then. If you make a comment on here expect people to challenge you. The ratings are up ONE WEEK having been declining for years. lets see where we are come November

We're talking about right now. The thread title is "X Factor rises 1.5m viewers to 8.4m". That is a fact. We are entitled to talk about it. You are not being held at gunpoint and forced to participate. It is not November yet.

Some of us are talking about the present moment, which is all we actually have. You are not the forum police. Stop trying to tell people what they can and cannot say. Refrain from hypotheticals to counteract present facts.

care to explain what the increased quality and production is ?

all i've seen is the same staged nonsense but with even more sob stories and joke acts for people to make fun of

not to mention the panel trying oh so hard to pretend how much fun they are having in each others company ...

This is just anecdotal debating. This thread is about statistics. Statistically, The X Factor's ratings are up year on year and week on week. It doesn't matter one iota if you personally didn't like it or think nothing's changed or yadeyade. The numbers are what we're talking about and they are up - that is incontrovertibly true.

as per your previous post

who are you? the forum police?

the poster i replied to made a statement about why he thought the numbers had increased and i am simply asking him to explain what he meant by it.

You need to read my posts more carefully before you start criticizing me pal. I have never suggested to anyone what they can and cannot say. I was responding to the comment directed at me... NO MORE NO LESS

You were rude to that poster using prickly statements like "care to explain...?"

I'll answer for him:-

1. Editing much stronger this year, feels woven together deliberately rather than clips clobbered in a random sequence

2. Judge lineup feels 'vintage' and taps into glory years of show. Panel seems to gel.

3. Show not taking itself seriously at all, it's all about fun and jokes with smatterings of talent.

4. Episodes more linear, spend more time in one location rather than previous years where judges would have different outfits and hairstyles every 5 minutes.

5. Other areas show clear evidence of freshening up, for example new opening titles after 5 or so years.

6. Filming quality is even higher, better camera work and sharp, glossy shots with great artwork for the judge/contestant room backdrops.

That's 6 reasons off the top of my head why production is improved. Others agree.

Now you DON'T agree, and that's fine, but the ratings are up year-on-year and week-on-week since the opening episodes which garnered strong support and word of mouth, as well as higher levels of social media sharing than previous years.

The ratings are up. This thread is about ratings being up. Whether production has actually improved or not, the ratings are up.

The ratings are up.

The ratings are up.

The ratings are up.

I was responding to both the comment of yours I quoted and the one which you refer to before that, where you said "lets see how many stick with it to the end of the series, tired show, tired presenter tired panel". In this you used your own anecdotal thoughts to justify hypotheticals about future ratings in a bid to downplay the present-moment fact: that ratings are up year on year, week on week. I don't see how that's difficult to comprehend, 'pal'.

its so cute seeing fanbois come out of the woodwork again after all the falling ratings, enjoy it while it lasts

NO, YOU WERE TELLING ME TO STOP TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY............

"You are not the forum police. Stop trying to tell people what they can and cannot say".

Another logical fallacy used by you, utterly poor debating style.

No need to defend your argument, just shift the focus back on to me / the 'fanbois' coming 'out of the woodwork' rather than focusing on the facts! Ignore all the points I made above about production improvements and how they may play a part in the increased ratings.

Clearly incapable of having a reasonable debate.

You instructed a member: "so don't post the same crap in multiple threads then"

No need for caps, either. I'm calm. Maybe go for a walk and take some deep breaths of fresh air. Life's too short to burst gaskets over an internet message board, or indeed The X Factor, really.

I simply think the thread was about ratings being up, and some people are attempting to discredit that using their own subjectively negative opinion of the show, which is not a strong enough argument really. Objectively, figures are up year on year and week on week for both Sat and Sun.

Saturday's episode nearly beat last year's final, which aired in December rather than a summer evening, quite how that can not be seen positively irrespective of one's views on the programme (or its production) is baffling beyond comprehension.

what argument do i need to defend ?

i, like many other fans of the show, had hoped to see fewer sob stories and fewer joke acts and more focus on genuine talent, there have been multiple threads on here saying that. what have we seen so far, sob stories being rammed down our throats and joke acts that couldn't have been more staged if they tried.

whats your argument? that the show is "fun" again. well you must have a very different definition of the word "fun" than i do. seeing the same old predictable staged, manipulated nonsense isn't fun.

apart from telling people what they are and aren't allowed to discuss of course

I'm sorry you don't enjoy the fun show, and prefer a serious one. More viewers seem to prefer a fun show, hence why Gary Barlow's era of 'seriousness' which trickled through into Simon's return and the Grimmy/Rita year, saw ratings fall each year.

Ratings are now up, that is a fact. That is what the thread was started about. Your personal opinion is of course yours to keep, but ultimately your opinion cannot change the fact that ratings are up week on week and year on year, now the show is back to being "fun again".

I don't see how you can argue with raw objective numbers with your own subjective opinion.

we will part as friends.........................cheers..................................

Much love to you!

its one weeks numbers and a week that alot of people thought featured one of the worst shows ever, we'll see whether they can maintain those numbers week in week out.

i dont want to see a serious show btw, i want to see a fun show, but watching sob stories get rammed down my throat or contestants like those 2 at the weekend who have done the same "act" on other shows just isn't my idea of fun

come on do you really want to see a show where a guy comes on and tries to get the sympathy vote by telling the judges that he had stopped singing for awhile because his girlfriend left him and his heart was broken.

thats not fun, thats scraping the bottom of the barrel.

That's fine! No one is trying to say the ratings will skyrocket or stay that way forever. Last week's could indeed be the highest til the final.

But we're talking about what we know so far, and so far we know the ratings are up! Year on year, week on week, for both shows.

And they also rose so high that they nearly eclipsed last year's final.


If you watch an old episode of X Factor from say 2009, you'll see it's always been staged and sob stories have always featured. That is The X Factor's DNA. Much like a drama or a soap, the majority of viewers (who, spoiler alert, largely don't frequent internet message boards) will happily suspend disbelief if it's put together well, and that's what has formed its success in the past - if it's entertaining and well made. Many would argue the 'weaving' of the storyline is stronger this year, and much like it used to be. The show became a chore (and a sloppily made one at that) between 2011-2015, it's back to being a bit of fun again now. Always been staged.


It's actually what The X Factor has always done. "Music is everything to me", "I'm doing this for my dead dog" etc have always been X Factor cliches. Please refer to this thread from 2008:

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=883351

This thread in 2008 is slagging off sob stories in the show. But ratings in 2008 were 10.5m on average with 14m for the final.

Another thread "All the sob stories make me puke" from 2006 (Leona's year)... http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=469122

Maybe people have short memories?