‘X Factor’ Ratings Continue Downward Spiral, ‘The Voice’ Keeps Winning

X Factor has continued its downward ratings spiral. While creator Simon Cowell famously predicted that the show would debut with 20 million viewers, it brought in only 12.7 million at its peak last season. Now after a two-hour Season Two Fox debut which features the judging styles of Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, the show has dropped to just 8.5 million viewers, a 32 percent fall from its Season One premiere.

In comparison, X Factor competitor The Voice managed to bring in 10.7 million viewers for its season three, night three performances on the same nights. Executives at NBC had added the third night specifically to take on X Factor.

The drop off in X Factor ratings comes at a time when the show is spending millions of dollars to showcase top judging talents which also includes super-producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid, the same man behind Mariah Carey, Pink, and Justin Bieber.

The drop in ratings could be a troubling sign to come for American Idol ,which has also thrown star power behind their judges in the form of Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, and Keith Urban. The American Idol judging panel was announced on Sunday morning, just hours before Idol auditions were set to kick off.

American Idol thrived in its early years because it was something new and featured a panel of judges that people thought played well off one another. Perhaps the played out format on X Factor has turned fans away, or perhaps they would rather just tune in to watch Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo, and Adam Levine spar with one another on The Voice.

Here’s an idea: Allow X Factor to play on Hulu so it can generate some online buzz; seriously, why are Fox and Sony protecting the airing rights for this huge pile of garbage?

Do you think X Factor will see 3 seasons?