As Idol is idle, will X quickly become ex?

The X Factor judges (from left), former Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, Ronan Keating, Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands.

WHEN Channel Ten announced that Australian Idol wouldn't be returning to our screens in 2010, TV viewers across the country seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. It had been seven long years since the show first appeared and after a ratings drop of about 20 per centin its final season, it was time for Idol to go.

But while many Australians were celebrating the demise, Channel Seven saw things slightly differently — with a gap in the talent show market, the "time was right" for the network to part with $22 million and give The X Factor a run. 

Of course, it's not the first time that The X Factor has found its way onto Australian TV. Back in 2005 the show made its Australian debut over at Channel Ten, hot off the heels of a successful first season in Britain. Unfortunately for Ten, the British import didn't make the same splash in Australia as it had back home and the show was axed after just one season.

But The X Factor's previous failings in Australia are only one part of the problem for Seven. Of equal concern is the fact that The X Factor is essentially Australian Idol with a different name.

Both shows follow the plight of semi-talented musicians as they strive for their 15 minutes of fame; both rely on relentless cross-media marketing and cross-promotion; both are about lining the pockets of already-rich record execs. 

Even a glimpse at The X Factor's judging panel will reveal a certain likeness with Australian Idol. Of the four judges, two have been recycled from earlier appearances on Idol — there's Guy Sebastian, Idol's first winner back in 2003, and Kyle Sandilands, the seemingly-omnipresent shock-jock who was an Idol judge from 2005 to 2008.

In fact, so indistinguishable are Idol and The X Factor that, in 2004, the producers of The X Factor faced legal action from the creators of Pop Idol, the show from which all other Idol shows were derived. The case was eventually settled out of court in a deal that saw Pop Idol's creators become stakeholders in the X Factor franchise.

Sure, there are cosmetic differences between The X Factor and Australian Idol — groups are allowed to enter The X Factor, for example — but these pale into insignificance when compared with the similarities between the shows.

But, of course, appropriating the format of an existing show is hardly news in the world of commercial television. Without the security of government funding, it's a case of "better the devil you know" for the commercial networks. Shows that were successful overseas get a local version, already successful shows receive numerous spin-offs, and shows that have been around for 35 years are repeated ad nauseum.

But if the ratings from Australian Idol's final season are anything to go by, viewers eventually tire of the seeing the same shows recycled and reused. For the networks it becomes a case of "same, but different"; use the format that has rated well previously, while making it different enough that viewers don't realise they are watching the same show with a different name.

So it is with The X Factor. The success of the show will ultimately depend on whether viewers remain convinced that they are watching something significantly different from what they've already seen before. If the show's initial ratings are anything to go by then things aren't looking all that positive for Seven.

The X Factor's premiere attracted a measly 1.19 million viewers, making it the fifth-most viewed show on that particular evening. Ironically, the night was won by A Current Affair, which ran a tell-all interview with Bert and Patti Newton about their troubled son Matthew. He had been lined up to host The X Factor before being dumped by Seven.

In the seven episodes since the season launch, The X Factor has averaged 1.28 million viewers a show. But with the launch of Junior Masterchef last Sunday — which had more than double the viewers of The X Factor that night — The X Factor has some stiff competition.

Seven hasn't made it clear what sort of ratings The X Factor will need to justify the $22 million outlay. But one thing's for sure; if viewers start to realise that they are watching a opportunistic attempt to flog a dead horse, The X Factor will last about as long on Seven as it did on Ten.

Matt de Neef is a freelance journalist who blogs at A Cursory Glance (http://acursoryglance.net/).