The X Factor 2016 ratings hit a 10-year low as 6.8m viewers tune in for first episode

Number will likely go up with consolidation viewing

Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger are back, but the high ratings are not

(ITV Thames/Syco Entertainment)

ITV may have brought back Sharon Osbourne, Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh, and Dermot O’Leary for The X Factor, but that wasn’t enough to bring back viewers.

The broadcaster revealed that 6.8 million viewers tuned in for the series’ first episode, down 800,000 from last year’s opener (7.65 million), and the lowest launch since 2005 (6.6 million). Numbers peaked at 7.5 million, less than the average last year.

As noted in ITV’s release, this number will likely increase with consolidation viewing; last year’s launch episode “added 2 million viewers through seven day catch up, watched back through a TV set”.

Meanwhile, The Xtra Factor – The X Factor’s spin-off show – was watched by 809,000 people, the second most-watched digital channel programme of the day, behind only Hull v Manchester United on BT Sport.

The X Factor was still the biggest show of the night, with 34 per cent of TV watchers tuning in to watch the auditions. Only BBC One’s special Casualty episode came close, 5.1 million tuning into medical drama series.

The opening auditions have already been hit by ‘fix’ allegations after viewers noted how contestant Ryan Lawrie was a signed artist who previously played to thousands of fans at Wembley Stadium.