Thursday Ratings: The X Factor Finale Falls Flat

By On 12/21/2012 · 71 Comments · In X Factor

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A repeat of The Big Bang Theory got higher ratings than X Factor in the demo during its half hour. That’s sad.  The finale  was down 18 percent from Season 1, and down 37% from The Voice finale.  Entertainment Weekly predicts The Voice could topple American Idol as TV’s highest rated entertainment series when both shows go head to head next year.

VIA TV By The Numbers

On FOX, the finale of The X Factor earned a 3.1, up  from last week’s 2.4, but  down seven tenths from last year’s 3.8 adults 18-49 rating.

8:00PM

FOX The X Factor (8-10PM) 3.1 9 9.646
CBS The Big Bang Theory -R 2.8 9 10.923
NBC A White House Christmas 1.6 5 8.462
ABC I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown -R 1.4 4 5.116
CW The Vampire Diaries -R 0.3 1 0.983

8:30PM

CBS Two and a Half Men -R 2.3 7 8.73

9:00PM

CBS Person Of Interest -R 1.7 5 9.377
ABC CMA Country Christmas (9-11PM) 1.5 4 7.28
NBC The Office -R 1.0 3 3.108
CW Beauty And The Beast -R 0.3 1 0.878

9:30 PM

NBC Parks and Recreation -R 0.8 2 2.098

10:00 PM

CBS Elementary -R 1.3 4 6.753
NBC Rock Center With Brian Williams 0.8 2 3.50

Half Hour Breakdown from Marc Berman

8:00 p.m.

ABC – I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (R)
Viewers: 4.95 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#4)

CBS – The Big Bang Theory (R)
Viewers: 10.92 million (#1), A18-49: 2.8/ 9 (#1)

NBC – White House Christmas: First Families Remember
Viewers: 8.22 million (#3), A18-49: 1.6/ 5 (#3)

Fox – The X Factor (season finale)
Viewers: 8.46 million (#2), A18-49: 2.7/ 8 (#2)

CW – The Vampire Diaries (R)
Viewers: 1.06 million (#5), A18-49: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

———-

8:30 p.m.

ABC – I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (R)
Viewers: 5.28 million (#4), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#4)

CBS – Two and a Half Men (R)
Viewers: 8.73 million (#2), A18-49: 2.3/ 7 (#2)

NBC – White House Christmas: First Families Remember
Viewers: 8.71 million (#3), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#3)

Fox – The X Factor (season finale)
Viewers: 9.44 million (#1), A18-49: 3.0/ 9 (#1)

CW – The Vampire Diaries (R)
Viewers: 910,000 (#5), A18-49: 0.3/ 1 (#5)

———-

9:00 p.m.

ABC – CMA Country Christmas
Viewers: 7.76 million (#3), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#3)

CBS – Person of Interest (R)
Viewers: 9.42 million (#2), A18-49: 1.7/ 5 (#2)

NBC – The Office (R)
Viewers: 3.11 million (#4), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#4)

Fox – The X Factor (season finale)
Viewers: 9.88 million (#1), A18-49: 3.1/ 9 (#1)

CW – Beauty and the Beast (R)
Viewers: 890,000 (#5), A18-49: 0.3/ 1 (#5)

———-

9:30 p.m.

ABC – CMA Country Christmas
Viewers: 7.37 million (#3), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#3)

CBS – Person of Interest (R)
Viewers: 9.33 million (#2), A18-49: 1.6/ 4 (#2)

NBC – Parks and Recreation (R)
Viewers: 2.10 million (#4), A18-49: 0.8/ 2 (#4)

Fox – The X Factor (season finale)
Viewers: 10.80 million (#1), A18-49: 3.4/ 9 (#1)

CW – Beauty and the Beast (R)
Viewers: 865,000 (#5), A18-49: 0.3/ 1 (#5)

———-

10:00 p.m.

ABC – CMA Country Christmas
Viewers: 7.26 million (#1), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#1)

CBS – Elementary (R)
Viewers: 6.99 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 4 (#2)

NBC – Rock Center With Brian Williams
Viewers: 3.22 million (#3), A18-49: 0.8/ 2 (#3)

———-

10:30 p.m.

ABC – CMA Country Christmas
Viewers: 6.73 million (#1), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1t)

CBS – Elementary (R)
Viewers: 6.52 million (#2), A18-49: 1.3/ 4 (#1t)

NBC – Rock Center With Brian Williams
Viewers: 3.78 million (#3), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

 
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  • http://twitter.com/BazzleFjsm Bazzle

    Well no they don’t take them that young because it’s really not a good idea to. I agree with not limiting the upper age on XF but I do not agree with lowering of the age limit to something as low as 13 years old. 

  • Sara M

     

    It’s interesting that ratings started declining about the time dance pop started to take over the charts.

    This is not true, go look at the charts again. Dance music and rap were even more dominate when idol first started.

    The show created this viewership they now have by not keeping up with the times.

    No, it created this viewership by focusing on specific genres and “artistry” at the detriment to good singing.

  • fantoo1

    People said the same thing about the Voice beating idol last year and it didn’t happen, even with superbowl in account. We saw with X Factor that new judges doesn’t guarantee anything and we saw that a successful season and winner doesn’t guarantee anything(Idol season 10). Idol had their biggest ratings drop after a successful season and winner, so nothing is guaranteed. Without the superbowl last year, it would have been no contest, idol would have beat it by a landslide(instead of a point).

  • http://twitter.com/BazzleFjsm Bazzle

    Exactly. It looks like Simon has signed 5H. I have some hope for them even though I think they would have done even better in the 90′s. They need good/great songs as well as Tate. Little Mix is doing very well with their album and their single ‘Wings’. I couldn’t have asked for a better single. Not only does it seem to be doing well with the core commercial fanbase but its also got R&B flavours that attract listeners like me who aren’t into pop melodies. 

  • SullyD

    Season 11 did have some current songs, but it had A LOT of “songs done to death” too, more than any other season I guess.
    Not only the usual suspects like “you are so beatiful”, “a change is gonna come”, “without you”, “I have nothing”, “Jesus take the wheel”, and MANY more, but we also have a song performed more than once on the season.
    Josh and Elise both It’s a Man’s world, Joshua and Lauren Gray sang I’d rather go blind and, of course, who can forget that Elise and Jen both sang “One and only” On.The.Same.Night.

    Of course, Idol did a “current songs” theme week and they did have the chance of singing some more current songs through the season, but the numbers of outdated AND overdone songs still surpass it by far.

    It’s not even a matter of being “current”, you can perform a good old song that nobody has performed it yet. But they really need to invest on it, cleaning more songs to be on the list.
    Till then, I’ll mute everybody who sings those overdone songs and I won’t even feel sorry for it.

  • Montavilla

    LOL One Direction used backing tracks during their X Factor run. Look at them now. Little Mix, Union J and District3 didn’t use backing tracks, but I doubt they will ever reach 1D’s success.

    Again.  It’s like steroids.  The performance is enhanced, but it feels wrong.  And not just because it creates an uneven playing field.  (It doesn’t, and neither would steroids if they were legal to use.) 

    It’s like… Miss USA/Universe contestants having plastic surgery.  Wait.  Bad example. Really bad example….

    :)

  • http://twitter.com/BazzleFjsm Bazzle

    The show deserves those ratings. How can you have a finale without highlighting any of the finalists but the Top3? Only 2 celebrity acts with one having been on the show already? Is XF for real? Not even a group performance? Not to mention Jason Brock and Lyric145 didn’t even appear. Such a talented group of contestants wasted on this show. 

  • irockhard

    And I honestly don’t see this situation changing till they get rid of Lythgoe and Warwick.

  • http://twitter.com/Loretta31 Loretta

    The quandry is what is current is not what the viewing public likes, gets behind and votes for. 

    The Voice has yet to produce a winner who has had a top 100 hit.

    Idol has had many.

    Personally to me a BIG voice is not the only kind of voice.  P2 and Melanie for example have unique sounding voices to me and I enjoy them.  Both wanted to be less tethered alas remained restrained.

    I would love a show where the contestants had more creative and artist control.  They could perform originals if they dared spin that wheel of fate.  TPTB seem to believe that viewers would not enjoy originals and I disagree.  With Itune sales it would be a good way for contestants to make money from originals and gain insight as to what sells and what does not.

    As for Xfactors viewership dropping, I happen to know many of E3′s fans did not watch and did not vote.  My dd and her buds swore off the blasted show.  This would account for some of the dip.

  • HKfan

    The fcat that the judges have a disconnect to the contestants on Idol is a big plus for me.
    The voice from what I have seen is all about the judges, they even say ‘Blake won’ or ‘ I want to win this year’ as opposed to the contestants names. There seems very little follow up with the contestants once the show is over.
    The Xfactor is just way over produced, too many dancers, back up singers, light shows, etc. And too much imput from the judges. They didn’t seem to know their contestants this year and made some really bad choices both in styling and song choices.
    Idol always seems the one that is more about the contestants, at least once the audition stage is over. And although each week they have a fairly small list of songs to choose from they can at least pick their own. And they seem to have more say in the musical arrangement of the song.
    And up to now viewers of Idol have had the most say on the voting process. Really don;t like the sound of people not being able to vote till top 10, thats one thing that sets it apart from the others, on X factor and the voice its down to the judges nearly all the way through.

  • mjsbigblog

    I just watched a video of the X-Factor Pre-Show and the insiders (including two professional pop singers) remarked that Fifth Harmony weren’t actually singing the “Ooo-oo-oo”s during “Anything Can Happen.”  Not only did they have background singers, they were using a backing track.

     
    It’s obvious that production used reverb and enhancements on the live vocals (which in my opinion, just made the singers sound muddled) but to pre-record parts of the vocal performance? That’s wack. 

    If Simon insists on having a groups category, then the acts have to perform like GROUPS. Not individual solo singers sharing a stage. That defeats the point.

  • milwlovesadam

    It’s going to take a lot to get me to watch XFactor again. One of the reasons is that I used to just love Simon. I actually found him to be handsome and funny and quite clever and honest and that he gave good constructive feedback. I did. Don’t hate me. I wasn’t alone in this!! But, that was several years ago.

    He was very critical of OTT and “theatrical” performances when he was with Idol.  Now, he has become the show. The staging and lighting and backup singers and costumes are OTT from day one. It’s so theatrical it takes away from being able to hear if the contestants can actually sing.

    I find this highly ironic and hypocritical. I am thinking much much less of Simon these days.

    Also, he has a hit with One Direction. Now he wants to cookie-cutter more boy bands instead of finding new and unique talent. Meh.

    I honestly wish Nicholas had won the voice, and hope he does well. Tate is just another country dude to me. Cassadee is pretty and pretty pitchy. Nicholas is a real entertainer with a wonderful vocal instrument.

    XFactor has jumped the shark.  IMHO. It’s the Honey Boo-Boo of singing shows.

  • Chris

    What’s most ironic is Simon and X Factor producers ripped this show apart, fired Paula, and the lot, gave huge salaries to the replacements and the result is…….. fewer viewers. Under 10 million, no where near the 15 to 20 million dream.

    Simon is up a creek and it’s only Season 2.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/XDQP2Y46M5B3OHOKALDDGDHQCM Leandro

    5th Harmony and Emblem3 used a lot of playback tracks (and even with that Emblem3 still sucked). Me and a bunch of other people pointed it on the live blog topic.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/XDQP2Y46M5B3OHOKALDDGDHQCM Leandro

    I think 5th Harmony had talent to not use these resources and even to make more intricate harmonies, but this show is so cheap that I doubt they had enough vocal coaches to work 24/7 with each one of them.

  • calliebeckett

    Anyone here thinks a major audience of all these singing show is to see good and humble acts that aren’t like what’s topping the charts? The gaga, rihannas, pitbulls aren’t appealing to them. This audience is probably older than what tptb wants however.

    They like the tate stevens, phillip phillips, scotty, etc. Humble, no over the topness, dance beats, autotune, etc

    No major international superstars but I’m not sure most of the audience are even thinking about that….

  • maymay

    If this season ratings is like last season during audition, AI will beat TV.

    TV S2 ratings took advantage of Super Bowl, but it still lost to AI. TV S3 ratings never surpassed 5 during blind audition. So AI ratings should surpass 5 during live, then it can beat TV blind audition in March.

    But AI this season audition can stay the same ratings like last season? It`s the key to beat TV.

  • windmills

    fantoo1: We saw with X Factor that new judges doesn’t guarantee anything and we saw that a successful season and winner doesn’t guarantee anything(Idol season 10). Idol had their biggest ratings drop after a successful season and winner, so nothing is guaranteed. 

    But XFactor and Idol are not The Voice and I believe The Voice’s appeal is a little different from AI’s just like AI’s appeal is different from The Voice. I think the judges’ chemistry has turned into a pretty strong selling point for The Voice and the judges have a more positive impact on The Voice ratings than the AI judges  will on AI’s ratings as the season wears on. 

    The Voice and AI are also at different points of their popularity arc. The Voice was the upstart and based on media buzz and ratings, it’s on the upswing. AI is the reigning but aging king or queen and its buzz and ratings have faded compared to where they were before. Does that mean The Voice’s arc definitely has a peak that’s higher than whatever point of its arc AI’s heading to now, or eventually? No, AI could operate at a higher level for as long as it’s on TV. I’m just saying I can’t rule out the possibility that The Voice will win out this season. 

    Then again, maybe it’ll turn out viewers have some Blake/Adam/Voice fatigue in the winter/spring (which will lead to lower Voice ratings), or overall talent competition fatigue in the spring (which will lead to lower ratings across the board). I don’t know but I do really think it’s going to be key for AI to cast a group of finalists that media buzz and fans see as superior to the finalists on The Voice. Seeing as I skipped most of The Voice this fall (I started watching performance vids once they were down to 8 people left) because I was saving myself for Keith and AI, I hope AI has a great season in all aspects. 

  • briguyx

    Number one, people get to know the contestants on Idol, not just through their bio packages, but by the way they arrange and choose their songs during those theme nights everyone seems to hate. But year after year, a lot of the highlights on AI come on those theme nights. “Benny & The Jets” and “Your Song,” anyone?

    And for those that constantly blame the producers for re-using songs, don’t you get it that a lot of the time it’s the performers who choose the songs they know (I’m talking AI now… Simon Cowell will push “Hallelujah” at every opportunity). Yes, you have the contestants who have played bars and have a varied setlist they can draw from, but other contestants grew up with religious music or country music or loving the music of one or two artists or the one big ballad they sing at talent show after talent show. So they pick the well-known songs, and frankly that’s smart. Because if you sing something most people don’t know, you better have a moment or you’re out!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NDYOWBIIPZU6PBRHGOPT2ZZJXQ sweetmm

    Idol needs to play and tweak around with its format; make it fresh to sustain old-timers like me and attract new viewers.  I don’t doubt at all Idol will sustain its highest numbers of viewers but rating wise it might be affected if it remains stagnant.

  • irockhard

    When you debut as a new artist you debut with a song no one’s heard before, and you need to be able to sell it to your target audience. The point of all these shows, especially Idol, is to find viable recording artists.

    Perhaps contestants who coast on safe song choices and refuse to take risks are not cut out for the music biz.

    If I was Iovine and I got a say in the casting I would not put a single pageantbot who auditions with a Whitney ballad through. I don’t care how well they well they sing it. You might not get another shot to show me what you can do and you choose a bland, dated, overdone and uninspiring song? Is that the extent of your talent? Being a cookie cutter Whitney mimic? No creativity, no imagination, just vocal chops and maybe good looks? Next!

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