Simon Cowell’s X Factor Premieres to ‘Disappointing’ Ratings of 12.5 Million

Simon Cowell made no secret of his intention of going after American Idol with his brand new US singing competition , X Factor. With all that, the first show opened to “disappointing” ratings of just 12.5 million, half of what Idol got this season premiere.

Objectively speaking, X Factor brought in good numbers, comparable to another new show, NBC’s The Voice, which has recently been renewed for a second season.

However, it was Simon’s saying that he wanted to take Idol down and that anything below the 20 million mark would be a “disappointment” that set the bar very high for the opening night, AceShowbiz reports.

“[X Factor] only drew 12.5 million viewers and 8.7 household rating, with a 4.4 rating in 18-49 demo,” the publication says.

“Posting far below the expected 20 million viewer rating, the singing competition created by Simon Cowell only garnered audience less than a half of the number American Idol season 10 premiere earned in January (26.2 million, 9.7 in demo),” the same media outlet further writes.

Nevertheless, comparing a brand new show to one that has been on the air for many years is not fair, especially where it concerns competitions of this type, which tend to get better ratings halfway through the season than at the onset.

FOX’s reality chief Mike Darnell certainly seems to believe so, saying in a statement that X Factor has all the ingredients to become the biggest thing on television right now – just give it time.

“Simon’s showmanship, something you’ve got to love him for. We lived with the reality that there is an enormous interest in every show during premiere week, and honestly, we’re just relieved this morning. Other than crazy expectations, this is a very good premiere,” Darnell says.

“Hopefully, like many reality shows do during their run, I think X Factor has a real shot at building (in the ratings),” he adds.

Simon is yet to comment on the just-released figures or on headlines like “The X Factor, Half the Show of Idol.”