Cue renewed talk about how FOX’s “The X Factor” is flopping.
When the second season, despite booking Britney Spears as a high-profile new judge, premiered below the show’s early season one numbers, things looked bleak. But FOX’s reality series, which has already been renewed for a third season, countered some of the negativity by delivering steady ratings throughout the audition process.
Unfortunately, the transition to the competition portion of the series seems to have restarted the elevator for another descent. Coming on the heels of an underwhelming performance Wednesday (2.7 adults 18-49 rating, 7.4 million viewers in the fast nationals), Thursday’s show dipped even lower.
Even with a small upward adjustment in the finals, the episode’s adults 18-49 rating will end up down by about 20% from the previous Thursday telecast. As it stands, its 2.3 demo rating and 6.2 million viewers position it as a distant third for the evening.
While it is true that ABC’s Country Music Association Awards likely took a bite out of the “X Factor” rating, context suggests the bite might not have been especially significant. The awards themselves were down sharply from last year’s telecast, clocking in at just a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating with 13.6 million viewers in the fast nationals and thus not the formidable ratings force they could have been.
The 2011 edition of the awards, which aired on a Wednesday, delivered a 4.8 adults 18-49 rating and 16.4 million viewers in the final nationals.
The November 9, 2011 episode of “The X Factor” that faced those awards, meanwhile, held fairly steady at a 3.8 with 10.3 million viewers. Within the demo, it was down only five percent from its previous Wednesday telecast, which registered a 4.0 and 11.8 million viewers.
The results show on Thursday, November 10, 2011 delivered a 3.3 with 10.1 million viewers.
