Broadcaster ITV confirm that they have “no plans” for another series of The X Factor.
The last full series of the TV talent was in 2018, although a celebrity version and band edition aired in the following year.
The X Factor was one of the UK’s most popular shows during its peak in the late noughties. However, ratings have significantly dropped in recent years, with the show failing to pull in the viewers.
A spokesman for ITV says: “There are no current plans for the next series of The X Factor at this stage”. Meanwhile, newspaper reports claim the show is having a rest for at least five years.
Simon Cowell’s pop music competition first hit our screens in 2004, where unlikely winner Steve Brookstein claimed victory. Among those joining him on the judging panel over the years has included Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne, Dannii Minogue, Cheryl, and Nicole Scherzinger. The show also spawned a short-lived US version which ran for only three seasons from 2011-2013.
Cowell signed a deal with ITV in 2019 agreeing to the broadcasting of Britain’s Got Talent until at least 2024. However, he did not make any commitments to keeping The X Factor beyond 2020.
Struggling to pull in the viewers
In its heyday a decade ago, the singing competition regularly attracted audiences of over 10 million. In 2010, over 17 million people tuned in to watch Matt Cardle crowned as winner, beating a third place One Direction.
However ratings have declined in the years that follow, and only an average audience of 5.3 million viewers tuning in to see Dalton Harris reign victorious. Judges appearing on that series alongside Cowell were One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, singer Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field.
2019 saw the show take on new formats with The X Factor: Celebrity, followed by the last minute The X Factor: The Band at the end of the year. The former, won by reality star Megan McKenna saw celebrities competing to become champion. Meanwhile, the latter saw solo artists auditioning to win a place in a new girl or boy group. The boys and girls were then pitted against each other to win the ultimate prize of a recording contract. Cowell revealed in early 2020 that the show would have another year off.
It was announced last month that the music mogul is now turning his attentions to leading a panel of judges in a new upcoming musical game show, Walk The Line.
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