“X Factor” ratings are down, but show lengths are up

October 10, 2011 at 4:30 PM

The X Factor

You know, I’m beginning to think that Simon Cowell doesn’t know what he’s doing after all.

When the original X Factor schedule was released, there were several 90 minute shows built-in during the Boot Camp and Judges’ Homes phases of the competition. Not only did it mean that those of us who watch the show would be a break between the two-hour audition shows and the two-hour performance shows, but it also meant less to watch of what turned out to be the most boring, bland, and mind-number Boot Camp I’ve ever seen.

Unfortunately, that lasted an entire one night. Unbeknownst to me until last Thursday, but The X Factor had increased last Thursday’s show to two hours. And now they’ve done the same thing for all three Judges’ Homes shows.

That’s right. This week’s Wednesday, October 12, and Thursday’s, October 13, shows, as well the show next Tuesday, October 18, have all been extended to two hours.

Hooray for us.

For those of you planning to record the show then watch it later, you better make sure your recording device is set up properly. Otherwise, you’re recording is going to get cut-off mid-sente………..

So why is Simon Cowell, FOX, The X Factor, all the above doing this? Simple: for the ratings, because the longer a show is, the higher the ratings.

What? You never head of that? Well, your not alone. According to the ratings for last Thursday’s extended show, a couple of hundred thousand people didn’t know it either.

According to TV By The Numbers, last Thursday’s extended two-hour show had 260,000 fewer viewers than last Wednesday’s brief, but equally boring and bland, 90-minute show. Okay, so 260,000 fewer out of the 11.67 million who watched it isn’t that big of a number. But that loss is on top of the fact both of the previous Thursday editions of the show saw ratings INCREASE over their Wednesday counterparts.

American Idol sort of ruined many of the competition shows for us, especially the singing ones. With all the previous promises of reduced show times, we’ve all grown weary of two-hour shows, whether they been during the audition phase or during the live show phase. I remain convinced that one of the main reasons for the decline in ratings for American Idol in previous seasons was because of the show lengths. We were tired of all the bogus filler the show was giving us and so we began to tune out.

And I think that tune out has affected The X Factor since we associate Simon Cowell with both shows, even though he wasn’t an American Idol producer and, as such, had no say in how that show was run. But I think the viewing public suspected that the content on XF shows would be similar enough to what’s on AI that they simply didn’t even bother tuning in. And with the increase in show times for the next three shows, I’m beginning to think those smart viewers were onto something.

What do you think about the 30-minute increase in last Thursday’s show as well as the next three shows? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Oh, and don’t forget to make sure that you have your recorder set for two-and-a-half hours for Tuesday, October 25. That’s how long The X Factor will air that night. And no, that’s not a recently announced extension. That’s been on the schedule since day 1.