Simon Cowell’s The X Factor was given a boost after 2 million viewers
watched the opening episode on catch-up, lifting its overnight
ratings by 26%.
The launch of the latest series, featuring new judges Nick Grimshaw
and Rita Ora, had an overnight audience of 7.6 million, its lowest for
a launch show in a decade.
But the show’s consolidated audience – including people who recorded
it and watched it in the following seven days – added another 2
million viewers taking its total to 9.6 million.
The timeshifted audience was nearly 50% up on last year, when the
launch show’s overnight audience of 9.3 million grew by 1.3 million to
10.6 million in the consolidated ratings, an increase of 14%.
The pattern was repeated for The X Factor’s second episode, when the
new series boosted its overnight 6.5 million to 8.1 million in the
consolidated figures, up 25%.
Last year timeshifted viewing grew its total audience for the second
episode by 16% from 8.2 million to 9.5 million.
The consolidated figures do not include viewing on the ITV Player or
repeat showings on ITV.
