A million UK viewers abandon 'X Factor'
'The X Factor' has lost more than a million UK viewers in a year, overnight figures showed today.
The show, which began its live stage last night with Gary Barlow announcing he was to step down, is 1.1 million viewers down on average compared to the equivalent show in 2012.
And it was far behind BBC1 rival 'Strictly Come Dancing' which increased its lead with 1.7 million more viewers.
The show's live debut – after weeks of pre-recorded stages – pulled in an average of 8.1 million viewers on ITV last night (including viewers of the +1 catch-up channel). The audience peaked at 9.5 million.
But at the equivalent stage last year the figure was 9.2 million, making it the highest viewed programme of the night, with a peak of 10.3 million.
Last night's 'X Factor' figures also represent a huge drop on the 2011 figures. Two years ago the first live show drew an average audience of 10.9 million viewers, with a peak of 12.7 million.
'Strictly' has been romping ahead this year and last night it had its highest audience of the series with 9.8 million viewers as Natalie Gumede topped the leader board. The show had a peak of 10.9 million.
The slip in 'X Factor' figures comes despite innovations in the show to boost interest in the programme, including the “flash vote” which was used for the first time last night.
The drop also comes after a major slump in audience figures last year.
