X Factor ratings plummet as audiences switch off

X Factor was a ratings winner for Mediaworks last year, but will it succeed again in 2015?

Things aren't looking good for next year's X Factor New Zealand series if viewers follow Australia's lead.

The Seven Network's The X Factor bowed out on Monday with close to a 40 per cent drop in audience numbers compared to the grand final and winner's segments of 2013. Overall, The X Factor's ratings were down about 27 per cent on last year.

Likewise, Nine Network's The Voice took a hit as well, albeit a slightly less painful one. The Voice, which launched with more than two million viewers, struggled to get 1.2 million watchers towards the end of the season.

Once the king of reality TV, ratings for the karaoke shows have been in steady decline all year.

Only 1.578 million souls were left at the end of a marathon 150 minute (part live, part recorded) episode to see teenager Anja Nissen win the The Voice. Two years ago more than three million tuned-in to watch Karise Eden win the first season of The Voice.

The numbers will no doubt have Mediaworks execs worried as they continue to plug X Factor New Zealand as the highlight of their 2015 calendar.

So what is the problem?

Not helping either series is that the same songs keep being churned out like David Guetta's Titanium which has been on high rotation for two years.

Nor the fact The Voice has become more about the coaches and their interaction with each other while The X Factor is guilty of being a love-in as it nears the pointy end of the series.

Then there's marathon grand final episodes to decide who wins and, to a degree, is never heard of again.

The fact the winners of The Voice or The X Factor have never made it big does not help the credibility of the shows, no matter how sincere or how well known the coaches are.

Viewers can see through entertainment for entertainment's sake and recognise a show that genuinely launches an artist skyward.

Australian Idol ran out of steam after seven years and while it was panned, it has, in retrospect, been paid respect because of the success of several acts.

The most notable are Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, Shannon Noll, Rob Mills and Anthony Callea - all amateurs looking for a break.

Arguably Big Brother, which has produced Chrissie Swan, Blair McDonough and Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald, has had more success stories than The X Factor or The Voice.

To blame the decline of The Voice or The X Factor on reality show overload would be wrong.

The Block and My Kitchen Rules were stand outs in the ratings this year and even the grand final of Network Ten's cooking series MasterChef beat both karaoke shows.

The MasterChef's winner's announcement had 1.703 million viewers which was some 650,000 more than tuned-in in 2013.

So before anyone auditions for The Voice and The X Factor, both networks need to work out how to overhaul their shows for 2015 otherwise it's a ratings disaster waiting to happen.

-AAP