X-Factor / Dan Fitch / 10 September 2010 / 2

Dan Fitch looks at the financial figures which define the X-Factor.

The X-Factor is not just the biggest show on British TV, it's also the biggest money-spinner.

From phone votes, to advertising, records and live tours, the X-Factor brand just keeps coining it in. We've delved into the economics of the show, where only one person is guaranteed to make a fortune.

35p = The cost of making an X-Factor phone vote

It costs 35p to vote for your favourite contestant on the X-Factor. In series 5 of the X-Factor, a total of 16,469,064 votes were cast.

£2.50 = The price for a ticket to see Steve Brookstein play live

In 2004 Steve Brookstein won the first series of the X-Factor, after he received six million votes in the final. His debut single and album both went to number one.

In 2010 Steve Brookstein played a gig at the Caradon Don Inn near Liskeard, Cornwall. The pub charged £2.50 per ticket.

£94 = The average price for a family ticket to see the X-Factor tour

The 2010 X-Factor Live tour played 18 sold out shows across the UK, with a family ticket for four costing an average of £94.

Tickets for the 2011 tour have already gone on sale, despite the fact that nobody has a clue as to which acts will be performing.

£5000 = The value of the rug damaged by X-Factor contestants

A regular feature of the X-Factor is the 'judges' houses' stage, where contestants are whisked away to audition in the homes of the judges.

Often these 'homes' are rented, rather than being the actual abodes of the famous judges and a recent story showed why this is a good idea.

Newspapers reported that a group of contestants trashed a £15,000-a night villa in Marbella, where they were auditioning for Simon Cowell. As well as waking their mentor up in the middle of the night, they also managed to ruin a £5000 antique Persian rug.

£12,500 = The amount of money offered to Steve Brookstein 'to go away'

Despite the success of his debut album, Steve Brookstein soon got on the wrong side of Simon Cowell, after disagreeing over the content of the second record.

"Simon kept saying, 'I know what I'm doing', by which he meant, 'I know what sells. But it sounded like karaoke to me. I was offered £12,500 to go away quietly, and when I didn't take it, life got very difficult."

"My website came down, there was a lot of negative publicity. I was basically shunned by the industry. No serious management would touch me because they've all got connections with Simon."

£40,000 = The cost of hiring Jedward for a three-song gig

Jedward may not have won the 2009 X-Factor, but they could end up earning more than their competitors.

The Irish brothers were charging £40,000 per gig at the time of the last X-Factor finale, with only the winner Joe McElderry earning more, at £50,000 per concert.

Runner-up Olly Murs was charging £7500 per gig, whilst third placed Stacey Soloman was available for £5000. Bottom of the earners was Rikki Loney, at £1500.

£50,000 = The amount of money earned by a contestant on the X-Factor tour

After a newspaper ran a story claiming that a contestant would only earn a paltry £250 per show on the X-Factor tour, after paying tax and 20% to managers, Simon Cowell denied that this was the case.

"It is not slave labour. I won't go into precise figures because that is confidential, but these people will earn around about £50,000 each on the X Factor tour.

"For any kid who wants to get into the music business and who hasn't got a recording contract - well, it is a good deal. To put them in front of 16 million television viewers over a period of time and then pay them £50,000 for three months' work? That is not a bad deal."

£250,000 = The cost of a 30-second advert during the X-Factor final

In terms of advertising revenue, the X-Factor has become Britain's version of the Superbowl.

The final weekend of the 2009 X-Factor saw ITV pocket £6 million in advertising. At nearly £3 million per hour, it was the most lucrative commercial TV event since England lost in the Rugby World Cup final in 2007.

£1,200,000 = What Cheryl Cole was paid as an X-Factor judge

Cheryl was the highest paid of the judges for the 2009 series and was recently estimated to have a £10 million fortune.

It has been reported that Louis Walsh will be paid £1.6 million for the latest series, while Dannii Minogue will receive £700,000.

£11,000,000 = The amount of money earned by the X-Factor's biggest winner

Since winning the X-Factor in 2007, Leona Lewis is estimated to have earned £11 million. On The Sunday Times Rich List of UK musicians under the age of 30, Lewis came joint top, along with Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins.

Lewis' debut album Spirit was a big seller across the world, going platinum in the USA and nine times platinum in the UK. The album included the single Bleeding Love which went to number one in 34 different countries.

£165,000,000 = Simon Cowell's fortune

The 2010 Sunday Times Rich List reported that the X-Factor mogul Simon Cowell has a £165 million fortune, having earned £45 million since the previous year.

Cowell has earned £86 million in the past two years from TV work alone. He is now the 398th wealthiest man in Britain and it looks like he will soon be climbing up that league table.

He has signed a six-year deal with Sony BMG, which saw Cowell take back the rights to his hit reality TV shows, which Sony bought in 1995. The X-Factor will soon be launched in the USA and if it's as successful as the UK version, then Simon Cowell could soon go from being a mere multi-millionaire to a billionaire.

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1. sharon mcveigh | 23 September 2010

   Disgusting program a get-rich-quick show for the celebrities who prey on the most vulnerable and laugh and mock them whilst pretending to create pop stars. a mere few have made it at the expense of hundreds being humiliated in the process.

2. Brian | 30 September 2010

   Exploitation of emotionally vulnerable people disguised in a campfest. How can anyone watch this degrading humiliating programme says alot about society. This is what young people aspire to wanting to be! very sad situation.
   

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