Early Ratings: X Factor Short of Idolesque

I was reading comments on that article…someone said that they’re just household numbers? There are more to be included? that the 8.9 share for Criminal Minds isn’t right?

Comparing to the absolute premiere of Idol is not smart either, since Idol was a brand new format, while we had a much better idea what X Factor would be like. Usually the Idol premiere is among the highest-rated episodes of the season, so this is probably NOT good news for Fox. X Factor may be relegated to the #3 talent show as a result.

IMO, this number is mediocre if you take into account the media hype and promotion that fox has thrown into this show, between the spot during the superbowl and ASS games to the numerous others during their own shows, the return of Paula and Simon, etc.

If the demo number is very good this could turn out to be ok.
It will be interesting to see how many stayed tuned all through the night;

I actually liked X Factor but it warms my heart knowing Simon’s ego may take a nose dive after seeing the ratings. What was the exact number he said that anything less would be a disappointment?

If X Factor cannot even beat The Voice’s ratings, then we know it will likely flop. Fox might want to monitor closely and perhaps they may want to go back to focusing on Idol in 2012.

Considering ALL THE MONEY spent on promoting his damn show, unless X-Factor wipes the floor with ALL of the competition the man looses, and looses big time. Just reading the X-Factor thread was probably a lot more interesting than watching the show…I bet TV remotes were working over-time and that the amount of people who stuck it out through the whole 2 hour fiasco (based only on comments since I didn’t watch) won’t put the show close to Idol numbers for a very long time…if ever.

I think the ratings are okay for the first episode.

There will multiple ways of spinning these numbers, but the reality is that Fox and Simon have to be disappointed. THIRD place, behind a sitcom and a scripted drama? After all that promotion? I thought the numbers for last night were going to be big just because so many people would be tuning in to at least check it out. I thought the bigger test would be how much the drop-off is for tonight’s episode. I have a feeling Simon could be crying in his porridge come Friday morning.

THIRD place, behind a sitcom and a scripted drama?

This made me smile. I remember the days when reality shows were second rate, and it was an embarrassment for scripted shows to be beaten by them.

I was reading comments on that article…someone said that they’re just household numbers?

It is possible for a show to win the night in the household ratings, but have fewer total viewers than another show, and most people tend to focus more on the key demo ratings than the household ratings, but these preliminary numbers indicate that the X Factor didn’t come close to drawing 20 million people, and that its total viewer numbers will be on par with the CBS shows.

I had a feeling the 1st episode numbers would be underwhelming when I compared the number of comments on the live blog for the X Factor premiere to the number of comments on the live blog for The Voice’s premiere. 15 minutes after the East Coast premiere was over, The Voice live blog had over 330 comments and the X Factor live blog had about 67. I know comments only mean so much and this was only possibly a sign of interest within the Idol community but that was eye opening.

X Factor’s a little bit closer this morning with closer to 1/3 of the comments of The Voice premiere (as opposed to 1/5) but there’s still a gap (X Factor 144 comments to The Voice’s 446).

The demo numbers will be interesting to see because forget the AI comparisons for a second, coming in 3rd (or even 2nd in the demo) for the night is not a good result for a show as hyped as X Factor.

Not really surprised. This genre of show is getting very tired. And coming in after The Voice didn’t help. I could see this getting AGT numbers since the shows seem kind of similiar to me.

certainly solid numbers, but I’m happy that it didn’t put up monster ratings, because Simon’s ego is already out of control as it is. Maybe it will turn out that audiences simply aren’t that interested in yet another talent-based reality show? It would be nice if tv turned away from focusing so much on reality shows and went back to producing more quality drama and comedy shows.

ETA – I do wonder how they are going to try and spin this to make it seem like the premiere was this monster hit

I’m actually glad Modern Family won because it is a great show that has been steadily attracting more and more attention.

It looks like X Factor will have what would be considered good numbers for any new TV show, but will fall slightly behind the hype. If Fox was expecting the Idol-slayer (or Idol-matcher), they will probably be disappointed.

Let’s see if the show will grow from here or if it will follow the same pattern as Idol.

Either way the show will still make a profit though.

I think it’s too early to worry whether these ratings are good or bad. What were Idol’s ratings on it’s premiere night?

If Simon didn’t figure it out from last season’s AI, now he might realize that people aren’t going to tune in just to see him. I think that X Factor can grow, but the focus has to be about the show and the contestants, and not Simon, copying AI, or trying to take cheap shots at AI.

More early numbers;

Up All Night – 4.7
Free Agents – 3.3
Harry’s Law – 5.5
SVU – 5.5
CSI – 8.1
Survivor – 6.7
The Middle 6.6 & 6.8

What were Idol’s ratings on it’s premiere night?

You mean during the summer, when fewer people are watching television, and when nobody knew who Simon or Randy were, and Paula’s career had been dead for years? Before reality shows started taking over, and when it wasn’t normal for them to be the highest rated shows during the season?

You mean during the summer, when fewer people are watching television, and when nobody knew who Simon or Randy were, and Paula’s career had been dead for years? Before reality shows started taking over, and when it wasn’t normal for them to be the highest rated shows during the season?

Yeah! lol That’s funny right there. I don’t care who you are!

I found it entertaining. More entertaining than Idol auditions. THey get to sing an entire song in front of a live audience. I usually skip the Idol audiences because they make them 90% joke contestants 5% mediocre contestants and 5% with maybe some potential.

5% with maybe some potential.

Based on the blog comments I’ve been reading X-Factor didn’t even come up with 5% of Singers with potential.

I think it’s too glossy for a bunch of amateurs. Their voices and stage presence don’t meet their surroundings yet. Also, too fake. Did I see that Simon has given a standing O already? What’s left for when he sees a truly outstanding performance – will he run around the studio pumping his arms and shouting hallelujah?

Lesson learned: Simon Cowell is NOT the draw he thinks he is. He is purely an egomaniac.

Based on the blog comments I’ve been reading X-Factor didn’t even come up with 5% of Singers with potential.

It was only the first night.

What’s left for when he sees a truly outstanding performance – will he run around the studio pumping his arms and shouting hallelujah?

No different than Idol judges who gave Standing O’s about 100xs during S10. Not sure why it’s a big deal when Simon does it for X-Factor. He never did for Idol but I understand he did in the UK X-Factor.

Based on what I’ve read on some Idol blogs some Idol followers are finding any reason they can to hate the show whether it’s logical or not. I personally think of it as just another TV show and my TV has an on/off button. I will probably choose to not whatch Idol as I’m bored with it. I choose to watch X-Factor because it’s different and I do like Simon and Paula. I’m liking LA Reid too.

Mateja says:

09/22/2011 at 10:02 am

I think the ratings are okay for the first episode.

The ratings for tonight will be revealing, IMO. Will they go up or down? I know I am not tuning in again until they get to Boot Camp. How many others were turned off last night?

The key numbers I think are to compare X Factor to The Voice and The Sing-Off. If X Factor is the #3 or #4 talent show continuously, I don’t see it lasting long.

19E headquarters has to be happy today as their biggest bullet has been dodged big time so far…

The ratings are not surprising to me. I know the show has been advertising a lot, but I truly haven’t seen the ads – it hasn’t been part of what I’ve been paying attention to. I only realized it was debuting last night cause I read a comment on this blog!

I have not spoken to anyone in my life who has mentioned the show. I think they really need contestants to start building some watercooler moments because the judging panel itself wasn’t enough of a draw.

I think it’s too glossy for a bunch of amateurs. Their voices and stage presence don’t meet their surroundings yet.

I totally agree! I think this why even the good talent probably sounded fairly mediocre – they were out of their element. How many performers are used to having that type of production, stage, or audience when performing. I doubt many of them. I think that hurt them because they couldn’t shine like they probably normally do.

some Idol followers are finding any reason they can to hate the show whether it’s logical or not.

Eh, maybe? But I liked UK X Factor, and often checked out clips and performances. I found the spectacle fun, even if none of the voices blew me away. But last night, I was doing other things, and mostly listening instead of watching the show – I swear that there was often little difference in how the “good” talent and the “bad” talent sounded.

That said, I’m not giving up on the show. I’ll probably just skip these tedious America’s Got Talent-like rounds and wait for the boot camp.

The ratings for tonight will be revealing, IMO. Will they go up or down? I know I am not tuning in again until they get to Boot Camp. How many others were turned off last night?

Count me in as one of those turned off. I really thought for the first show they would front-load the talent the way the Voice did to draw in viewers. I couldn’t believe the lack of talent that they gave us. I was also wondering if the audience reactions were edited for a different singer than the one they were actually watching because some of those people that the audience loved weren’t very good imo. Anyway, I’ll be skipping the auditions and will wait until the live shows begin before I watch again.

I think XF could be compared to The Voice more than The Sing Off (which seems to be really struggling for an audience).

The show is horribly cheesy. That’s my biggest issue with it. But I do like L.A.Reid and if they get better talent, I’ll probably watch.

Yeah idol! Fuller and Nigel are likely grinning ear to ear right now. I actually enjoyed the show but it will be fun to see Simon’s ego shot a little bit.

In general, the ratings tend to go down on the 2nd night. I know they usually did for Idol. So I would expect lower numbers tonight than last night

So IMO X Factor after all this hype debuted to dissapointing numbers. It had all the promo, hype and everything. I am glad because Simon’s ego is HUGE. Honestly I will say Simon left Idol in 2010 thinking almost ruining Idol that season that he would have biggest show. Idol season 10 surprised with a fresh revamp and great talent. IMO the big thorn in X Factor’s side was the Voice. The Voice IMO was so fresh, different and young. It had kinks but honestly was a great show and alternative to Idol cause it was different. NBC resting and launching it after superbowl is great. Honestly America’s Got Talent had a great summer. The problem with X factor is so felt fake and forced. Simon’s ego was huge, firing Cheryl for Nicole was stupid, The Saula reunion was been there done that. I mean X factor could build from its premiere but this is a big dissapointment considering all the hype. Btw did anyone watch Revenge last night. OMG it was so good. Madelaine Stowe is the best bitch on TV

How many shows for each step of the process, as I found the premiere audition pretty boring and even a bit painful. The talent was so so thus the standing Os in the full arena, were weird and seemed artificial.

The key numbers I think are to compare X Factor to The Voice and The Sing-Off. If X Factor is the #3 or #4 talent show continuously, I don’t see it lasting long.

The Voice aired most of its episodes during the summer, so that’s not a good comparison. I don’t think that Fox sees the X Factor as just another reality show, so they aren’t going to compare it to just reality shows. I don’t think that’s happening with any reality show that is on network tv. Survivor, AI and others have shown that these shows can pull in just as many viewers as scripted shows.

The demo and total viewers numbers are up:
8:00 FOX The X Factor (Series Premiere) 4.0/12 11.72

FOX The X Factor (Series Premiere) 4.4/11 12.56

Those are very mediocre numbers.
Low 4s in the demos are under what The Voice got in the spring for the premiere and the total number of viewers is well below the 20M Simon was targeting.

The number grew during the night but not much more than you will expect for any other show between 8 and 9 PM

I know I am not tuning in again until they get to Boot Camp. How many others were turned off last night?

I thought Adam Lambert was on Project Runway tonight? Am I wrong about that? I could have sworn people were talking about it twitter last night. If so that’s probably a better alternative than the audition rounds of The X-Factor.

I think it’s too glossy for a bunch of amateurs. Their voices and stage presence don’t meet their surroundings yet.

This might be why the UK version relies so heavily on the music and ambient noise (mainly piping in audience noise) soundtracks. They can really manipulate how viewers perceive a contestant by making the music louder, softer, or by totally taking out any crowd noise. This tactic is annoying, but it works.

wow that’s bad imo

The demo number for “X-Factor” puts it below the 5.1 that NBC’s “The Voice” notched with its premiere in late April, and is less than one-half the 9.8 that Fox’s “American Idol” opened with in mid-January. (Variety)

Wow, when even The Voice is doing better than X factor, FOX should be disappointed. Their audience may grow, but I just don’t see it happening, at least not during the auditions.

I have never cared nor ever wanted a silly TV show to out-right FAIL until Simon and his US X-Factor came into play. I realize it is totally irrational to dislike someone I don’t personally know, but I have just never warmed up to Simon…and his shenanigans over the years have totally turned me off on the man (though he never ever even remotely turned me on).

Everything about HIM and this show just rub me the wrong way. Based on his track record with his X-Factor winners and runner-ups I am firmly in the camp that he is all about abusing whomever he can to build up his own ego and to make more of the all mightly dollar or pound (including x-girl friends).

Six million viewers off of Simon’s goal is absolutely huge…that isn’t even close. And considering that everything is already in the can until the live shows I don’t think there is much Simon and company can do to find those six million viewers.

So, for today I am laughing my sox off…and enjoying his humiliation. Though, knowing Simon the “spin” will surface any second now.

Wow, I’m floored. I never thought it would do this poorly.

I wonder if Simon has any desperate tricks up his sleeve to try to lure more people to watch. I’m kind of scared at the thought of what he might do.

For me, it’s just that I have no interest in getting involved in another competitive reality show right now. It’s a crowded market. I’m not a religious AI watcher, but have been known to get involved depending on the season. I watched most of The Voice when it was on. I like The Sing-Off and watched it in its limited run, but don’t really have time for it right now as I generally watch DWTS. I strongly dislike AGT. I feel like for a new performance based network reality show to succeed right now it needs to strongly identify itself off the bat. There was nothing different enough about the X Factor promos to even remotely tempt me to tune in.

I do hesitate to compare X Factor numbers with Voice numbers though only because The Voice had less competition. I’m waiting to see how The Voice does when it has to go against all the big guns. For example, see how the Sing Off is struggling now that it’s up against some of the heavy hitters. Also see how SYTYCD struggled when it tried to do a non-summer season.

Also thrilled to see Modern Family did better than X Factor.

I wonder whether all the scads and scads of silly over-the-top promo actually could have hurt rather than helped? It just seemed like a joke to me — a parody of itself that its participants had no idea was a parody. That didn’t give me a very good impression of what was to come, I must say. Maybe I wasn’t alone>

I watched the first hour of X Factor. But by the 2nd hour I was bored & kept switching to Criminal Minds. I did see most of the last audition (Chris “Young Homey”). To me, the show seemed more like AGT which I don’t usually watch. I am surprised the ratings were that low. It was never going to have Idol ratings, but I never expected this. I will still keep watching, but I might not be paying much attention to the auditions.

I’m wondering how many people TiVoed X Factor, but just haven’t watched it yet. I am seeing many comments across the Internet that people watched it today or TiVoed it & haven’t watched it yet. TiVo’s ratings only count on the night’s ratings if the person watches the program before 4AM the next day.

I cannot see X Factor improving in ratings in the weeks ahead. I don’t think people want silliness at all, and people I think are also tired of Simon. The fact ratings dropped between the 8 and 9 hours suggests people tuned out and I don’t see them coming back.

Will X Factor succeed in America? I don’t think so.

The fact ratings dropped between the 8 and 9 hours suggests people tuned out and I don’t see them coming back.

I think the show lost viewers to Modern Family, so next week, when MF goes to a half hour, the numbers might improve.

In comparison, The Voice had far, far, far less promotion yet still had higher ratings. Comes to show that Simon cannot bring viewers anymore, as much as he thinks he can. I think he misjudged the views of American viewers. He wanted this to surpass Idol, yet it fell flat. If it falls below The Sing-Off (and I hope it does, that show needs better ratings!) then I will laugh.

I am wondering how many will tune back in tonight. I think some were offended to see this creepy guy pull down his pants on national television. Sure there was an X covering his penis, but the whole premise was a bit disgusting. I am not even sure if Paula and Nicole’s actions were real or scripted.

I didn’t think about it last night, but there may have been children in the audience. We know there were 13 and 14 year-old contestants who may have seen this pervert’s performance.

It would seem to me that TPTB want to put out the best talent available to bring in the audience. There were far too many loser acts. What was Simon thinking to allow the show to go on as it did? I just couldn’t watch the whole thing. Maybe it will be better in two months, but right now – I am not impressed.

Poor Simon, [sic] he may fret over the ratings.

People probably tuned out on the second hour because Nicole is insufferable. I know I would’ve if I watched it live.

Also, Modern Family has a huge fan following and is coming off some huge emmy wins. I’m not surprised it won at all.

I think Xfactor will pick up if there are some great auditions that create some buzz. In the UK, it seems like everyone is talking when there is a great audition. It gets people invested in the show. The auditions last night were terrible, I don’t even remember one name. The format and spectacle are fine but the human talent factor is not there yet.

Agreed about Nicole. Makes me happy that Sing-Off dumped her for the much, much better Sara Bareilles.

I really thought for the first show they would front-load the talent the way the Voice did to draw in viewers. I couldn’t believe the lack of talent that they gave us.

stwbcross, that would be a logical thing to do – the fact that they didn’t do it leads to two avenues of thought.

1. Simon thinks the audience is more interested in the possibility of seeing bad singers made fun of than the possibility of seeing/hearing the good singers, and decided to give everyone watching the metaphorical finger with that tacky dropped trou bit they decided to show.

OR

B. Simon thinks he DID front-load the talent. That would be a really scary thought.

JMO.

I have to say I expected the ratings to be higher than that, but it’s not a deal breaker. The show could still gain steam. I agree with others who have said if they get some truly buzz-worthy contestants, momentum could start to build.

In retrospect I don’t think this is about Idol at all. It is about The Voice and America’s Got Talent, which beat XF to the market featuring all it’s best gimmicks. Famous, younger, hipper judges; auditioning in front of an audience; kids, groups and older singers competing; judges acting as coaches; a more contemporary feel to the contestants; awards show style performances. It’s all been done. Going forward this show may have some positioning issues. Idol seems to have the “big tent wholesome family show” thing covered, America’s Got Talent has the “cheesy OTT summer show” locked down, so maybe what happens now is the fight to be the anti-Idol – i.e. Idol for people with more contemporary tastes? If that’s the case, I can’t see this beating The Voice so far. But we’ll see.

B. Simon thinks he DID front-load the talent. That would be a really scary thought.

I vote B….Simon’s taste has always been below his belt buckle (ooh, I’m bad). For Simon it’s always about playing to the lowest common denominator….the fact that he thinks risque-ism will draw in the viewers says a lot about what part of his anatomy does the thinking. Geesh…I really can’t tolerate the man.

THE MIDDLE AND MODERN FAMILY FTW. So glad I tuned into those instead of X-Factor =)

I can’t see this beating The Voice so far. But we’ll see.

I agree that The Voice hurt XF, but I don’t think they took full advantage of the opportunity. They pretty much threw the show together in order to accomodate the judges, so I think that if the X Factor takes its time, it will come out as the winner in the end, if the competition is between those two shows.

Those numbers are very in line with my prediction of the ratings. What will make or break xfactor is the talent it puts on the screen. If it brings the talent then it will do fine. If they have a season like season 9 of Idol, then good bye. I think they should be pretty happy. Modern family is a power house.

Not surprised that the Voice premiered better. I was curious to see the Judges and see the blind auditions. Having current pop artists as judges and having them have to pick people without looking was a neat trick.

I agree that The Voice hurt XF, but I don’t think they took full advantage of the opportunity. They pretty much threw the show together in order to accomodate the judges, so I think that if the X Factor takes its time, it will come out as the winner in the end, if the competition is between those two shows.

Yeah, you are probably right. It could go either way. A lot will depend on what changes The Voice makes next year. It has good bones IMO but it needs some big tweaks.

I do like that X Factor had more contemporary R&B/hip-hop types last night. If it keeps that up I could see XF developing a more Urban/Rhythmic following than the other shows as well. And as always, the real test comes during the live shows.

These numbers would not look so bad if X Factor had not been hyped to death by Fox and Simon Cowell. I thought the expectations were overly optimistic. What is popular in the UK will not necessarily be popular in the U.S., regardless of how much money you pour into hyping it, see One Direction.

For all they hype surrounding this show, the numbers are abysmal.

I didn’t watch it. Really had no interest in seeing it.

What is popular in the UK will not necessarily be popular in the U.S., regardless of how much money you pour into hyping it, see One Direction.

One Direction is doing great in the UK. They haven’t been launched in the US, but I think they could work in the US tween market. Big Rush, or whatever it’s called, does OK.

Long time reader…felt compelled to jump in here with some thoughts here. Definitely was expecting more on the ratings front (I personally estimated 18 million +/-2 million), but taking into account that FOX won the night overall in the key demos, I think that those wishing it to fail–even with these numbers–are in for a VERY rude awakening. I would be much more worried about the kind of numbers “The Sing Off” is putting up, to be honest. 

“…can’t tolerate the man.”

Why waste the energy, Tess?!? I am certainly not a fan of some celebrities, but there are better ways to kill time than to discuss how much I hate ‘em!

One Direction is doing great in the UK. They haven’t been launched in the US, but I think they could work in the US tween market. Big Rush, or whatever it’s called, does OK.

Big Time Rush has a very popular television show that seems to air year round. That makes up for their lack of airplay, and exposes them to their core demo.

Maybe the original poster meant JLS. Sony tried to launch them in the US a few years ago, and even though they got some huge stations to play their song, Z100 in New York and the top 40 station in Detroit, the group just couldn’t get more stations to play their song. I think the problem is that boy bands are just out of date in the US, and radio program directors think that the target audience for these groups don’t listen to mainstream radio stations.

Aw, doggone it! I hate that. With all the promo they’ve gotten, too!

Why waste the energy, Tess?!? I am certainly not a fan of some celebrities, but there are better ways to kill time than to discuss how much I hate ‘em

Never said I hated him…I can’t hate someone I have never met. And as far as discussing and commenting on him…how better to prove my point to myself then to be able to guffaw at his failures. I do the same with the Kardashians. Love it when they fuck up and do something silly or stupid. If I spent my life commenting on only the things I like my life wouldn’t be half so fun…and to fall into my “I love” column you have to be pretty damn special and interesting.

One Direction is doing great in the UK. They haven’t been launched in the US, but I think they could work in the US tween market. Big Rush, or whatever it’s called, does OK.

They have been launched big time in the US teen/tween media. See oceanup.com where they have put up more threads about the group than any tween star out today. Simon thinks One Direction will be big but he should look at the recent sales of the overhyped “next Justin Biebers”. Ellen’s protege Greyson Chance opened with 14k and Cody Simpson is on target for 24k to 27k opening according to HDD. As I said, hype can only get you so far.

They have been launched big time in the US teen/tween media. See oceanup.com where they have put up more threads about the group than any tween star out today. Simon thinks One Direction will be big but he should look at the recent sales of the overhyped “next Justin Biebers”. Ellen’s protege Greyson Chance opened with 14k and Cody Simpson is on target for 24k to 27k opening according to HDD. As I said, hype can only get you so far.

I don’t think blog articles constitute a “big launch.” When/If they get a US launch I’m sure Simon will make it substantial. They just began their careers in the UK, let alone the US.

I think if handled properly they’ll do ok in the US. Pop radio probably won’t touch them, but pop hardly plays beiber anyway. I think they have more of a chance than Greyson Chance and Cody Simpson simply because they are seem more hip and they have a better song, but who knows. It is still the very beginning for them.

I don’t think that Simon’s focus is on launching careers. Someone posted today that the X Factor is what AI should have evolved to, and Brian Mansfield mentioned that AI is more focused on the music, while the X Factor is about the moments, or spectacle. I think these are both good points, and show that the X Factor is more of a television show than AI. I think Simon’s focus is squarely figuring out what will keep people tuning in. It’s why in the past he’s changed the rules of his show in the middle of the season. But, it’s also why people in the UK don’t take the show seriously.

I hope it doesn’t flop, I really liked the premiere even if the talent was just so so. I love seeing an unnecessarily large ego get deflated, though.

I kinda like the big audience auditions. I was underwhelmed by the talent, but some of them do have major potential. Nobody had a brilliant and mind blowing audition so far, but the two early pimped singers and Chris Rene were most intriguing. Not really due to backstory, and not really due to great singing, but I saw potential in them. I thought Rachel and Stacy had good auditions in terms of potential. Singing-wise, they needed work (Son of a PITCH!) but it can be done.

It will interesting to see tonight’s ratings. I wonder if it will be lower, higher, or about the same?

I hope it doesn’t flop, I really liked the premiere even if the talent was just so so. I love seeing an unnecessarily large ego get deflated, though.

I feel the same way, so maybe it doesn’t have to flop, as long as idol keeps winning in the ratings.

I would be much more worried about the kind of numbers “The Sing Off” is putting up, to be honest.

No argument there.

But the kind and level of promotion that X Factor got — all that Simon and company marching around like gods or Roman emperors or something — just makes it kind of inevitable that we’re going to feel that the payoff wasn’t what they’ve been expecting. And to be kind of glad about it, in many cases. heh. ….

It’s harder to feel that way about Ben Folds and a bunch of harmonizing young strivers from Brigham Young and Howard and so on.

this is the exact predictions i expected, albeit on the lower end. i figured it would bring in between 12-15million viewers.

I personally didnt watch it. Ive seen clips of the show on youtube from the UK over the years and the show is nothing but trash and gimmicks. I dont think radio would give any of these contestants a chance anymore. the voice contestants went nowhere. most of season 10 Idol contestants have had zero hype since the show ended. and the X Factor has nothing every other show on television doesnt have.

I’ll venture to guess the ratings will be lower today, and possibly dip a bit below 10 million by next week.

Simon’s dream of having a contemporary artist come out of this show wont ever come true, especially since if im reading the ratings correctly, it has an older fanbase than American Idol. I expect another very nice generic artist to come out of the show, a male artist most likely.

Hey Simon, a lot of us are boycotting X-Factor after how you treated Cheryl Cole. Karma’s a bitch.

As you would say, “Sorry.”

Like I said in another thread, I don’t think X Factor will technically be a flop but I don’t think Idol is going to be threatened. X Factor comes across too much like America’s Got Talent and doesn’t have the cool factor of The Voice. Simon started XF a few years too late.

Ouch…

I hope the show doesn’t flop.

I’m sorry but those numbers are bad. This has been THE MOST HYPED NEW SHOW EVER. I can’t imagine the money Fox poured into promoting this show. If anyone would be remotely interested in this show they would have tuned in last night, because it has been promoted everywhere. To top it off, most people seemed less than enthused with the show. When The Voice premiered people were falling all over themselves to proclaim how good and entertaining it was, and I am not seeing that at all. I would not be surprised to see the numbers continually dwindle and this show not get a second season.

Commercials on Fox since last year, and this is all they can drag to the screen?

This number would not have been so disappointing had Simon not setup such high expectations.

The production budget of The Voice has to be like one-tenth that of X Factor. Fox might LOSE MONEY in the end here if ratings fall more considering the promotion.

The production budget of The Voice has to be like one-tenth that of X Factor. Fox might LOSE MONEY in the end here if ratings fall more considering the promotion.

I doubt it. Reality shows are cheap to produce, and that 4.4 demo rating will still put the X Factor comfortably in the top 20 shows, so advertisers will flock to it.

Didn’t X-Factor break their Ad campaign on the superbowl where a 30 second ad sells for 3million bucks? That’s a lot of dough for an ad that shows a big “X” and says “It’s coming”. Amazing…I remember the Ad but aren’t in the least anxious to watch the show.

^^ According to this CNN article, the marketing costs were $35 million.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/showbiz/tv/x-factor-commentary-drew/

Would love for The Middle & Modern Family to continue to beat up on Simon. He thinks he can buy ratings. We’ll see.

Those aren’t the numbers Simon was hoping for. Coming 3rd behind “modern family” an ABC comedy show isn’t good news. A tie with “Criminal minds” a CBS show would be respectable. And lower numbers than “The Voice” is just embarrassing. He better hope for improvements. I don’t feel sorry for Simon – all he cared about was using X-Factor to eliminate idol, but idol will come back to number 1 again.

And that Cheryl Cole was mediocre with an odd accent – good thing they got rid of her. The host is good though. Nicole is fun and Paula is doing well for now, and LA Reid is doing his job. The show kind of reminded me of “America’s got talent” with young and old in it – and I haven’t seen a full episode of AGT cause I can’t stand that show. The only one that impressed me so far on X-factor is Chris Rene “Young Homie” guy. The cute guy that sang Elvis is a mediocre singer and would be a better actor. The teen black girl who sang “Beyonce’s “listen” has potential. They better have more quality contestants when they get into real competition rounds. For 5 million dollar contract Simon better find a global superstar.