The X Factor and Strictly

One again and not surprisingly Strictly beat X Factor in the ratings last night but the reason I'm posting this is because the X Factor got one of if not it's lowest ratings ever:

Strictly Come Dancing: 9.35m
* peak: 10.19m

The X Factor: 4.79m (including +1)
* peak: 6.00m

Really poor rating for the X Factor, slightly surprising Strictly continues to grow despite it being a weaker group of celebs this year in my opinion however the show is still excellent, well produced and still fun and if I am in on a Saturday/Sunday night I would watch Strictly over X Factor. Even more concerning for X Factor is that it only just beat Casualty which got 4.60m in the ratings however X Factor was still ITV most watched show of the day and posted double the ratings of ITV 2nd most watched show which was The Jonathan Ross Show and that got 2.38m (including +1)

Your "surprise" at the show's continued growth would make sense if every UK viewer had exactly the same opinion as to what constitutes a "weaker" or a "stronger" selection of celebs. But it's entirely subjective.

Anyone from e.g. EastEnders or Casualty/Holby City is an utterly unknown quantity to me, as I've never watched those programmes in my life. But I'm very familiar with the Reverend Richard Coles, from things like Q.I. etc. For another viewer, quite the opposite might be true. For any given viewer, the selection of celebs each year may average out at roughly 50% "familiar-with" and 50% "never-heard-of-you". It depends entirely on what you're into (in terms of e.g. TV, music, sport, etc).

As you yourself have indeed said there, the perceived strength/weakness of each year's line up is entirely a matter of personal opinion . Maybe "most" viewers find this year's line-up to be equal to or stronger than last year's, for all that you or I would know?

Maybe the appeal of the format itself far outstrips whoever happens to be participating each year? Maybe the novelty value of having a new head judge this year has given the show a shot in the arm? Maybe just one of this year's crop of celebs brings a massive loyal following of fans with them, who'd watch anything with him/her in it despite no previous interest in watching Strictly? Or whatever.

For any one of us to be "surprised" at how well/badly the show is rating, just because of our highly personal and subjective perception of this year's crop of celebs doesn't seem very logical to me.

FWIW I’ve been watching Strictly for the first time this year. I’ve always loved X Factor, but I’m feeling a bit over it now. I’ll still watch on +1 but it’s not the must-see it once was for me.

Must be your age!

SCD has benefitted from an ITV format that should have been axed years ago. As Bruce Forsyth reduced his time and eventually retired from the show, X Factor has desperately changed their line-ups. format and is yet still flagging as the format lost their niche of providing real pop stars.

The viewers know that the winner of X Factor is a one-trick pony .

Personally I'm not a particular fan of SCD thanks to the current presenting line-up, but it's a nice safe format that can continue to provide entertainment, even with D listers and BBC soap stars.

Cheeky *******.

I think that's irrelevent in the battle with Strictly really - The X Factor's issues are more about the journey than the outcome and the strength in depth in recent years, plus completely cocking up the judging panel once Simon returned. Barely seen this year so not sure if the promised changes are coming through on screen - for me it's been the live shows where the rot really sets in and it seems they finally may have realised that (they're finally dropping the theme weeks for example) but I suspect the damage is done.

However even at 5m the show is performing better than anything else ITV could put out on Saturdays at this time of year.


Strictly though has just grown into a monster for the BBC and actually kind of great to see a show still growing it's audience after 13 years on air. It benefitted hugely from just loosening up a bit a few years ago and I think losing Brucie and now Len will only help widen the appeal. They seem to have made a wise choice with Shirley Ballas from what I saw last night, casting a judge based on their technical expertise rather than their fame or personality.

Thought the line up on Strictly was particularly strong this year, certainly lots of people I've heard of for once

What I don’t get about X Factor is why they keep using Osbourne. Ratings shot up after she left and they’d never won ratings battle with Strictly since she came back. In fact I’m pretty sure they’ve never won the ratings battle when she’s been on the panel.

For me, it's the positivity from Strictly. It doesn't try to pretend to be something that it isn't whereas it's not much of a secret anymore about how pre-planned and manipulated TXF and BGT are, and even the worst contestants are still encouraged on Strictly rather than have Cowell and Co pointing and laughing. I'm a little old fashioned in that I believe fame should be earned rather than given, and TXF does nothing but feed that and further b***ardise the music industry.

TL;DR I don't like The X Factor.

Minor stuff like that won't make any noticeable difference. It's just because it's been on so many years.

Not sure what any of this has to do with BBC One idents mind

That is also part of the problem. There's no successor as well as the lack of commercial viability in the 'winner' of the series.

An issue for all broadcasters and not just ITV is that they have a successful show, commit to the format for a period way past their shelf life and then reliant on said programme to bring in viewers and revenue even when the public has moved on.

The only positive is that when Syco goes for negotiating the show, the format loses some of it's value. The only thing left of value is that it guarantees some younger numbers for the advertisers in the same way ITV's daytime formats don't beat the BBC, yet bring in a targeted demographic.