‘The Xtra Factor’ canceled; ‘X Factor’ will focus on digital efforts instead
Maybe this is news that many out there saw coming, but it is finally now official: “The Xtra Factor” is over after being a part of the “X Factor” family since 2004. This spin-off series aired over on ITV2, and it featured everything from bonus auditions to interviews to often live Q&A sessions with the audience. This marked a rather unique chance to get further insight on the show, or at least some points to cool down after an elimination left everyone angry.
So why end the series? Based on what we’ve heard, it was simply a matter of performance. Just as the main series has been in decline for quite a long time now, the same goes for the spin-off. ITV is going to focus more on their digital efforts in the wake of the show ending, so we suppose there will be some more digital content that is released over the next season or two to offer up some of what the series offered. However, we imagine that some of that direct interactivity with the judges could be lost.
If you look below, you can see statements from social media courtesy of the show’s most-recent hosts in Matt Edmondson and former “X Factor” contestant Rylan Clark-Neal, who’s had a rather extraordinary journey given how so many people on the show proper didn’t at first take him seriously. This is further proof of the value of hard work. One thing that Rylan points out that is kind of amusing is that ITV2 could never make up their mind as to the ideal hosting combination — we do think that these two guys were the show’s best since Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, who were extremely endearing when they were on the show and that may be overshadowed somewhat by their more polarizing effort hosting the show proper.
The new season of the standard “X Factor” will premiere on ITV later this year. We’ll have further news on that once it is made available.
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