Simon Cowell has decided to air nine live shows instead of the usual twelve after discovering they will clash with the Rugby World Cup for three weeks.
The early live shows coincided with the rugby tournament, which opens on September 18 and which is being televised by ITV. Rather than risk loss of ratings, Simon Cowell decided to delay the first live show. It will now be on October 31, after the the World Cup final earlier that day. The change leaves nine live shows instead of the usual 12. But Simon believed 12 was too many. An insider said: “Simon thinks 12 shows can drag. And he knew X Factor could be moved if rugby was on. That would have been a huge headache.”
The change comes after Simon’s decision to air the judges houses episodes of the show live, if he can make the logistics work. The change would see two judges shown each night of the weekend before the studio live shows start. However, there are fears that due to the time differences of the countries the mentors choose, it could make it impossible to do it without pre-recording. The source added: “The plan is to push on with the judges houses being filmed live, but this could be subject to change.”
Simon Cowell confirmed he he has lined up a fourth judge for this year's X Factor saying, “I think you’ll be really surprised by who it is. Once certain names came into the frame people began calling.”
“I’m not going to give any clues. It’s about how much people want to be on the show for the right reasons. “It has to evolve like all these shows. I think BGT has worked this year because it really feels like it’s about the contestants. That’s what I have got to get X Factor back to being about.”
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