ITV1 reports bumper ratings as X Factor draws 11.8m viewers

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 07-Sep-09, 11:30

LONDON - The combination of England international football and 'The X Factor' helped ITV1 dominate Saturday evening's television viewing, as the third 'X Factor' live audition show pulled in an average 11.8m viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.

'The X Factor', running from 7.35pm to 8.35pm, took 52% of the TV audience and peaked at 12.9m viewers, or 55%.

Viewers tuned in to see acts like geeky French waiter Fouad Djaoublia and his weird rendition of Mariah Carey's single 'Hero'.

Djaoublia's performance sent the judges and the audience into hysterics as he squealed out the song, making strange noises while repeating the lyrics.

He instantly became a YouTube sensation and garnered around 61,000 hits in less than 24 hours. His audition has now been viewed almost 200,000 times through various uploads on the video sharing site.

Videos of Fouad's performance are also available on ITV.com.

England's international friendly against Slovenia, which was won 2-1, averaged 5.4m viewers, a 33% share of the audience, during the 4.45-7.35pm time slot.

The game peaked at 8.1m, a 41% share, at 7.15pm.

Over the whole of Saturday peak time, 6pm to 10.30pm, ITV1's audience averaged 6.9m, a 33.5% share.

BBC One, which broadcast 'The Weakest Link', 'The National Lottery: Big 7', and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl' during that time slot, achieved an average of 3.4m viewers -- a 16.4% share of the total audience.