The X Factor 2018

If I was itv or Simon and really want to keep X Factor they should consider radical changes and move it to a single night at 5pm or 6pm.

I'd also replace the judges at the live final stage with a barometer where viewers rate the performance as the act sings through the X Factor app but I'd have Simon alone give his own verdict and also comment on how the viewers have rated the performance on average.

Once all the acts have sang the worst average rating gets voted out that night. Show over till next week. Done and dusted. No messing about. The era of the suspense of X Factor has gone so it's time to get straight to the point.

It would reinforce viewers to watch live by adding more interactivity, you're trying something different and you might be more likely to catch the show before you go out for the night in an earlier timeslot. If they can do anything to remove the repetitiveness it'd be a good start.

That could be interesting.

I believe there is an international format with a similar barometer system already.

Which one? Melodifestivalen has the heart, but it's not an international format.

There have been a number of international formats that use live 'as you watch' interactive voting in the style of the Melodifestivalen heart-voting.

ISTR that C4 had one (or was it C5) in the last few years - which I think was an acquired format.

I was thinking of Rising Star.

And of course ITV bought that format in 2015 but they never made the series after it performed badly in the US & Germany.

I don't really agree.

Few people would disagree that X Factor is past its prime, but I think that while everyone loves to moan about it, people still watch it. While the viewing figures are on the decline, I feel that headlines like "Could X FACTOR get AXED after LOWEST VIEWING FIGURES in X YEARS?" gives the impression that it is performing really badly. While the figures are on the decline and ITV should really invest in the next big thing, I feel that ratings of 4.2 million for the second live show really isn't bad

I think that if they keep the show going, they need to stick with roughly the same sort of format and while having various minor format changes in the last few years probably helps the ratings a little and is probably a good thing, I don't really think that anything they do with the brand will be able turn it around in the long term.

The truth is it's getting mullered by Strictly which is, frankly, like watching paint dry. People were slack-jawed that Eurovision beat BGT earlier this year, but anyone who actually bothers to watch Eurovision and cast aside the stigma it has in Britain knows the production values there are unequalled, certainly in the last three years or so.

If it was getting thumped by something with those sort of world-class production values (something like Melodifestivalen, let's say, although granted even that's been a bit iffy for SVT1's ratings this year) I could take it.

If our version had the glitz, glamour and in several cases, sex appeal of Dancing With The Stars franchises abroad, again I could take it.

But to be outdone by more than 2:1 against the very pedestrian and lethargic Strictly is just embarrassing.

I think you may be making the mistake of thinking that you can map DWTS into the UK - when the reality is that you can't. It's rare for a 'lift and shift' approach to work that well.

Strictly does so well here precisely because it knows its audience. The presentation is quirkier (the hosts on DWTS are instantly forgettable), the Strictly production values are higher in lots of ways (AFAIK DWTS still has no floor projection in their regular studio, just tired gobos, only gaining floor projection only when they move to the shows in a real ballroom, and DWTS has a massively cut-back live band these days)

Strictly has largely avoided quite such an overt 'something for the dads' approach that sometimes you feel impacts elements of DWTS, and the humour that permeates Strictly (from Claudia's 'so bad they're good gags' to the training VTs) really makes a difference. I suspect Strictly It Takes Two helps in generating some loyalty from the super fans too.

Strictly is getting higher ratings in the UK than DWTS in the US - even ignoring the huge population (~5x higher) difference...

DWTS ratings have gone from more than 27m for the final in its earlier days, to just over 8m (less than Strictly is getting for regular shows) - so whatever Strictly is doing is working far better. Regular editions of DWTS are now in the 6-7m range, not adjusted for the population difference...

Having watched a number of International versions - the DWTS, Let's Dance etc. variants - they all seem to be cheaper, with lower production values (small studios with far more basic lighting, and much more limited added production in terms of set and props) and far less concentration and care taken over the actual coverage of the dance. (Strictly still shows you a lot of feet so you can judge the footwork at home - lots of international versions appear to treat it more like a music show)

That wobble was, I believe, at the end of the 2000s - not helped by the controversy surrounding both Tom Chambers' victory in 2008 (not that he didn't deserve to win, of course) and Arlene's departure from the show after that series.

Much as Brucie was a legend, I wouldn't disagree that his retirement and Claudia stepping up to the main show provided a refresh.




Wouldn't disagree with any of this either.

And I would never complain about how well-known the celebs are. I wouldn't say Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash were particularly well-known outside the cricketing world prior to appearing on, and winning, their respective series - and I was delighted on both occasions, as were many others.

(Then again, I *have* been a cricket fan since the age of 10... )

Perhaps it's just unfortunate for me that this year's line-up includes Kate Silverton (not one of my favourite newscasters), Ashley Roberts (not my favourite Pussycat Doll or talent show judge) and Seann Walsh (not my favourite comedian even before "Kissgate" - I still cringe at his performance during the Beeb's coverage of the 2016 Boat Race). And that I feel that Brendan's departure has left a void - he *was* the only other remaining original pro besides Anton, after all (although on one of the other forums on which I regularly post, quite a few members were actually quite glad to see the back of him).

I'm certainly cheering on Swanny, though, as well as Lauren Steadman and Duane Dibley... I mean, Danny John-Jules.

You don't get this on SCD.

Warning: Age restricted, go back to the GMB thread kids.