Simon Cowell admits X Factor defeat: “Round one to Strictly”

The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing went head-to-head in a ratings war last weekend, and Simon Cowell was not happy with the result.

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by Jack White |
Published on

BBC One's celebrity dancing show received on average 800,000 more viewers than the ITV singing competition.

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At it's peak on Sunday evening, Strictly saw 9.4 million tune in, while X Factor had a slump with 8.3 million.

Caroline Flack swapped the X Factor for Strictly this year
Caroline Flack swapped the X Factor for Strictly this year

Simon may not have been happy with being beaten, but he took to Twitter to admit defeat.

He wrote: "So the numbers are in. Strictly peak 9.4. X Factor peak 9.2. Round one to them. Such a shame they were both on at the same time."

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Speaking at the X Factor launch earlier this month, Simon insisted that Strictly's tactics in airing at the same time were 'aggressive' and 'competitive'.

He said: "I don't pay too much attention. I mean, they are incredibly competitive with us.

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"They say they're not but they are and we just found out that they put the show head-to-head with us which is quite aggressive and they did this in the past and I always say it annoys me because I think it's not what the viewers want."

Simon added that it's the viewers who end up losing out in the long-run, and said: "I don't worry about the ratings. What we do it try and make a better show than them and I think you need that kind of incentive so you don't complacent about everything."

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