Rivalry for ratings between The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing has reached a new high this week, as it was announced this morning that the singing competition headed by Simon Cowell will now be screened three times a week.
The ratings war between the two programmes has been raging since the shows returned this season. Strictly won round one on Sunday night when their launch show, unveiling the new contestants and their dance partners, attracted more viewers than The X Factor.
The hit dance programme had an average audience of 9.4 million compared to 9.2 million viewers for their singing counterpart.
So the numbers are in. Strictly peak 9.4. X Factor peak 9.2. Round one to them. Such a shame they were both on at the same time!
— Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) September 8, 2014
Now, ITV bosses have announced that they will add an extra Friday night X Factor show. The television network stated that there was not enough time available in their prime time slots to air everything.
The addition of a new programme, plus the return of Downton Abbey, means that only one hour is available on ITV for The X Factor on Sunday evening.
It was revealed that the boot camp and judges’ houses portions of the competition will be played out over the three nights, with the first of these going head-to-head with the launch of the first Strictly live show.
This is the first time that The X Factor will go out on a Friday night, colliding with a live slot that Strictly has held for many years.
Speaking last month Simon Cowell said: “It happens. I always think the people they pi** off are the viewers and when they say it isn’t a ratings battle, it is – and that’s why they did it.
“They didn’t have to put it on at the same time, but they did and it means that people then have to make the choice.”
The BBC hit back saying: “It’s very odd as they claim they are doing everything they can to avoid clashes but are playing X Factor on a Friday night for the first time ever when Strictly’s first live show has been on Fridays for years.”
Both X Factor and Strictly are now lined up to kick off at 9.00pm on September 26th, so get the record button at the ready.
