Simon Cowell Admits His 'X Factor' Ratings Expectations Were 'Too Cocky' (VIDEO)

When Simon Cowell brought "The X Factor" to the United States, he told Matt Lauer that if his talent show didn't match the monstrous ratings of "American Idol," he'd consider it a flop. With the Season 1 finale of "The X Factor" coming up on Thursday, it's clear that the show hasn't reached those lofty expectations. Now Cowell has admitted that he was "too cocky" when he boasted about how big a hit the show would be in America.

"Good Day LA" (weekdays, 7AM PT on Fox) reported on a press conference in which Cowell admitted that he set the bar too high. "I think I probably came here a bit too cocky, but I'm cocky by nature. I'd come off the back of a massive final in the U.K., had the adrenaline, couldn't wait to put the show on here, and it's going to take a little longer than I thought," he said.

While "The X Factor" may not be ratings disaster, it's under-performed in comparison to the gargantuan expectations Cowell set for it. It premiered to 12.1 million viewers, a far cry from the 26 million viewers who tuned in for the Season 10 premiere of "American Idol." In its 9PM hour, "X Factor" was beaten out by the hit ABC comedy "Modern Family."

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Comments

[Bob Bank]

09:13 PM on 12/22/2011

Simon Fuller was slightly stretching the truth when commenting that his "adrenaline" was flowing as he came off "a huge British ratings success on X Factor " as his excuse for over estimating the US ratings for his show. In reality the show substantially declined there also as also is his other "talent" show is in steep decline (Google them). The Twitter post above "truth is we have seen it before" is right on the nail.

[sweetpeanpooter]

02:50 AM on 12/21/2011

I stand corected about the rip off, but I still contend, the judges should be separate from the mentors, to be fair.

[sweetpeanpooter]

06:19 PM on 12/20/2011

The XFactor doesn't comeclose to American Idol. It;s a rip off of the Voice, and not a very good one. It is unfair to the contestance to have the judges, also be mentors. There is no fairness here. Naturally the judges will vote for their prodigies, wheather they did the best job or not. Bring in impartial mentors, and or judges, and your ratings will improve.

[GiaMTL]

07:46 PM on 12/20/2011

The X-Factor is way better than AI. Great diversified raw talent. Love it. American Idol will lose its buzz next season, thats my prediction anyhow...

[dukedvl11]

10:09 PM on 12/20/2011

How is it a rip off of The Voice when X-Factor has been around in the UK since 2004 and The Voice started in 2010 in The Netherlands?