Britney and Demi Fail to Boost 'X Factor' Ratings

Simon Cowell has a lot riding on this season of "The X Factor." Not only did he mouth off last year about how the show would be a disappointment if it had any less than 20 million viewers (it never got near 20 million), he fired his host and half the judges' table to try to get people more interested.

But it seems that even the addition of Britney Spears and Demi Lovato to the panel wasn't enough to boost "The X Factor." In fact, the show dropped about 25% in total viewers, down to an average of 8.5 million compared to last year's 12 million. The demo rating also dropped to a 3.3, down 25% from the season one premiere.

However, it might not just be a lack of excitement over Spears and Lovato that caused the dip: "The X Factor" went head to head with "The Voice" on Wednesday as well, after the NBC show expanded its premiere week to three straight nights. In the 8PM hour, "The Voice" outperformed "The X Factor" in the demo with a 3.3 to a 2.7, and pulled in 2 million more viewers overall.

Could it be that the reason Simon Cowell was complaining so much about the infringement of "The Voice" was that he knew it would outperform his show? It might be time for Cowell to realize that "X Factor" is the third place show in the top three for vocal competition shows, and that's just how it's going to be.