seven ways to save The X Factor

It is no secret that the UK version of The X Factor is in a bit of trouble.  Of course it is still a big show, but its viewing figures are on a downward trajectory.  So far the 2012 season it is about two million viewers per episode down on last year, which in turn was about two million viewers down on 2010.  More worryingly for the show, this series has had no momentum at all;  The figures have been somewhere about the eight million mark, since it started.  There has also been no rise in viewers as we approach the final - Indeed the semi final, which used to be a major event in its own right, scraped just 7.75m viewers, down from 13.7m in 2010.  Meanwhile the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing has beaten The X Factor, pretty much every week.  So, how can The X Factor restore its fortunes?  Here are seven  suggestions...

Have just three judges & three categories.
Freshen up and simplify the format a bit, by having just three judges and three categories (under 25's, over 25's & groups).  Then give each judge an act from each category.  Of the current, rather tedious judging panel, I would personally only keep Nicole Scherzinger.  The other two?  There must be a way of scheduling the series so that Simon Cowell could fit it in with his Hollywood work.  As for the final spot, the Mcfly boys seem to be reality TV naturals, so maybe one of them could do it?

Make the next season shorter. 
This season of The X Factor stumbled onto our screens just after the Olympics, and it will finish ten days before Christmas.  It should emulate the leaner Strictly, and lop a month off the next season.  Cutting a few of the audition shows, rolling boot camp & the interminable judges houses into a single weekend, and taking just ten acts (3 per judge & 1 wildcard) into the live shows would achieve this.


Grab the early evening slot. 
Given its younger audience profile, The X Factor should be the sort of show people can watch prior to their Saturday night out, or before the kids go to bed.  This is tricky when some Saturday shows are finishing at 10.45pm.  It should take the 6.30pm slot and aim to be off air by 8pm.


Make the Saturday night shows shorter.
Any show that lasts for two hours and forty-five minutes, is in danger of outstaying its welcome.  Ninety minutes should be the optimum length of show, with two hours being the absolute maximum.  Reducing the number of acts to ten would make this easily achievable.


Steal some of the best ideas from the American version.

The American version of The X Factor is certainly not perfect, and it certainly falls someway short of American Idol. but has had a good innovation in its sophomore year.  By announcing where each act has ranked in that weeks voting, it has added a whole new dimension to the results show, and may well encourage people to vote for struggling acts. 

Make the show FUN again!
Modern pop music doesn't always have to involve taking a catchy song and turning it into a John Lewis advert, it can actually be fun.  Part of the joy of Strictly, is that when they have a theme, no matter how naff, they run with it.  By contrast, The X factor has become a largely joyless experience, the only fun is confined to that years novelty act - while the rest of the acts sing the same type of song, week in-week out.

and finally... put the final on a single night.