FOX’s X Factor is attracting smaller audiences than anticipated, pushing down advertising rates and leading the network to compensate advertisers with additional ad time on the show, THR reports, citing the Wall Street Journal.
Fox guaranteed advertisers a rating of around 6, or approximately 7.6 million viewers, in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Journal. About 5.4 million viewers in that demo have watched on average so far, it said, citing Nielsen data.
The paper said network sources say Fox is selling ads at or above upfront market prices, which averaged $400, 000 for a 30-second spot. But some media buyers told the Journal that they have been getting spots for as low as $280, 000-$300, 000.
Mike Darnell, Fox’s president of alternative entertainment, said he is “thrilled” with the early ratings for X Factor. “My competitors would give one eye and two legs to have this show, ” he told the Journal. If the show maintains its current audience, “I would be perfectly happy, and the show would become a staple of the network.”
This is the first indication we’ve gotten of the expectations FOX had for the show. Despite the positive spin, it’s got to be a disappointment for everyone all around.
The Journal notes that despite under-performing, X Factor has boosted FOX’s Thursday viewership by 59 percent, giving the network the ratings lead among viewers aged 18 to 49 on that night for the first time in network history. X Factor won’t be cancelled anytime soon. But the destroyer of American Idol that some predicted? Nope.
