IS SIMON COWELL THE REAL X FACTOR IN X FACTOR?

Simon Cowell is reportedly preparing to return to the British version of The X Factor following the show’s plummeting ratings. Its weekend finale on ITV drew the fewest number of viewers for a finale in seven years — down 1.3 million viewers from a year ago. While it was once the most-watched show on British […]

BBC SAYS IT WILL INVESTIGATE SEX CHARGES AGAINST EX-HOST

The BBC, which has been accused of ignoring widespread rumors that one of its principal hosts of programs aimed at children sexually abused them, said on Monday that it will launch a “comprehensive examination” of the charges after a recently announced police investigation is completed. The announcement by BBC director-general George Entwistle follows the broadcast […]

EXPOSE ABOUT FAMED BBC HOST SAVILE DRAWS BIG RATINGS — ON ITV

Some two million viewers in the U.K. tuned in to watch the ITV documentary Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile Wednesday night despite the fact that it aired from 11:10 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. The figure represents more than a 22-percent share of the entire British television audience at that time of night. The […]

U.K. SOAP GARNERS A 43-PERCENT AUDIENCE SHARE

The British primetime soap opera Coronation Street, which debuted in 1960, attracted 44 percent of the entire British television audience Monday night for an episode in which it was revealed that a prominent character had murdered her son. The show was broadcast on ITV in two half-hour segments. The first, at 7:30 p.m.; the second […]

TITANIC TV DRAMAS DEBUNK CAMERON’S FILM DRAMA

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic will see two television shows broadcast — fittingly — on each side of the Atlantic Sunday night — each of which will attempt to refute in part the 1997 James Cameron version of events. In Britain on Sunday, the commercial network ITV plans to launch a […]

ADELE RECEIVES APOLOGIES FOR BRIT AWARDS INCIDENT

Had British singer Adele raised her middle finger from the stage while she was accepting one of her Grammy awards this month, there is little doubt that the gesture would have resulted in apologies to viewers from the network, a demand for an investigation by conservative “family” groups, and possibly a fine by the FCC. […]

NETFLIX: A NEW CHALLENGE AWAITING IN THE U.K.

Netflix, which continually has to fend off attacks from critics who claim that its streaming service increasingly resembles a second-tier cable channel that offers mostly old movies and television shows, may find itself locked out of new content by many of its British partners when it debuts in the U.K. and Ireland early next year. […]

IT’S NO IDOL, BUT FOX RENEWS THE X FACTOR

The show is getting nowhere near the audience that American Idol routinely draws, not to mention the audience that its creator, Simon Cowell, had predicted it would, but Fox reality chief Mike Darnell announced on Wednesday that The X Factor will be renewed for a second season and pronounced it a “monumental success.” To be […]

BRITISH X FACTOR DOES FINE WITHOUT COWELL

The absence of Simon Cowell from the judging panel on the British version of The X Factor has turned out to be as inconsequential as his absence from the judging panel on American Idol. The season premiere of the talent contest on Saturday night averaged 10.5 million viewers on ITV. And while that figure is […]

U.K. REGULATOR OFCOM SCORES THE DAILY MAIL

In an unprecedented ruling on Wednesday, OFCOM, Britain’s television regulator, reprimanded the Daily Mail, which had spearheaded a drive to censure ITV’s The X Factor for a dance routine presented during last December’s season finale. The newspaper had published photos taken during the performance, which featured Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, stating editorially, “Critics called on […]

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