With X Factor on ITV1 at 8pm – 9.15pm on Saturday 19th September, and Strictly Come Dancing on BBC 1 from 7.25pm – 9.05pm, fans were forced to choose between the two. However, data released by Sky shows that 1.9 million households chose to set their Sky+ boxes to record either show, allowing them not to miss the top-rated Saturday night programmes.

Figures also show that not only did X Factor win the live ratings battle, with 9.3 million viewers compared to Strictly Come Dancing’s 7.7 million, but was also the preferred choice of Sky+ users. Over 1.2 million people chose to watch X Factor at a later time via Sky+, whilst around half that amount (686,000) set their Sky+ boxes for Strictly Come Dancing*.

A Sky spokesperson commented: “Scheduling clashes like this are what Sky+ was made for. It’s great we’ve been able to save two million people from a difficult decision and enabled them to watch every second of their favourite shows.”

It will be interesting to see who will win the battle this weekend.

Via EPR Network
More Entertainment press releases