The launch of "X Factor" season 12 Saturday night drew in an all-time low of 7.11 million viewers from the 9 million viewers it had last season. But as revealed by a Mirror report, the show Sunday night saw 1.2 million less viewers than the first episode, a clear sign that the show is not doing well at all.
"X Factor" has seen its viewership sliding since 2010. During its better days, it had 14 million average viewers every week. This huge drop is the reason why the show is revamped with the entry of two new judges in the person of Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw. The move is in response to Mel B.'s and Louis Walsh's tenure on the show that resulted to a decreasing viewership last December. Another change this year is the revival of the idea of having auditions with a live audience. But this, too, failed to pull the show up from its current dilemma.
However, an insider from Syco, Cowell's production company, said that the entry of Ora and Grimshaw is not expected to work immediately for the show and that the public needs time to come around and be won over by the move.
The season 12 launching did not unravel well for the viewers, especially when a 60-year old Grandma who calls herself Techno Susan performed a '90s classic. While the live audience at Wembley enjoyed the performance, viewers at home were reportedly irritated, and later appalled, as the judges decided to let the senior performer through.
Last week, Cowell expressed confidence that "X Factor" would deliver this season. He even made a bet that his show would fare better than the ballroom dancing reality TV show "Strictly Come Dancing."
"I think our show does feel better – the talent is really great. And so, if it's us versus Peter Andre, I've got to put my money on us." Simon was quoted as saying.
