Adding Britney Spears and Demi Lovato to the judging panel was not enough to reverse fortunes for FOX’s “The X Factor,” which premiered ratings sharply below those of last year’s bow.
Undoubtedly hurt by night three of NBC’s “The Voice” premiere, “Factor” posted a 6.7 overnight metered market rating, compared to an 8.7 for last year’s bow, reports TV Media Insights.
Update: “The X Factor” and “The Voice” tied with a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating, which is a disappointing number for both, particularly the former given Spears’ debut. During their competitive hour from 8-9PM, “The Voice” led with its 3.3 and 10.7 million viewers; “X Factor” scored a 2.7 and 7.5 million.
“Factor” notably improved in hour two, bringing the night’s overall average to the aforementioned 3.3 with 8.5 million viewers. That was down from a 4.4 and 12.5 million for the premiere last year.
Worth noting is that the show’s audience improved once “The Voice,” which scored a 7.3 from 8-9PM, concluded Wednesday night (hour one of “The Voice” drew an 8.1 on Tuesday, so NBC’s series was also impacted by the competition). Though it still paled in comparison to last year’s marks, the 7.4 for hour two–and a 7.5 for the final half hour–paints a much rosier picture than the 6.1 for hour one.
And that improved hour still had to deal with “America’s Got Talent,” which scored an impressive 7.1.
Still, given the widespread disappointment associated with ratings for season one of “The X Factor,” which were strong for a typical series but underwhelming for a Simon Cowell-fronted music competition series, the fact that this year’s premiere attracted even less households despite a high-profile judging shakeup is very disappointing.