Simon Cowell holding ITV to ransom: £3m more or I pull plug on X Factor

Published on Friday 11 December 2009 21:42

SIMON Cowell has threatened to axe next year's The X Factor if the show does not receive more money from ITV.

The music mogul is believed to have demanded another 3 million from producers and has threatened to walk away if his demands are not met.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's final, which will be broadcast on STV, Cowell said he felt there was still demand from viewers for the show to continue, but that ITV had to give more money to make next year's show "even better".

The multi-millionaire – whose three-year 20m contract with ITV expires this month – is hoping that an expected audience of about 20 million for tomorrow's final will help him win the argument with TV bosses.

The 2009 series has been the most lavish yet, with the live shows costing up to 1.7m to screen every week.

But Cowell is understood to be demanding producers spend up to 2m for each episode transmitted in 2010.

The tycoon – whose personal fortune stands at 130m – said: "The way things stand next year we have no deal in place for The X Factor.

"Part of the reason this show has been so successful, and I credit ITV with this, is that they have invested a lot of money in the show to make it better, and obviously we work with great producers.

"So, believe it or not, when we actually do a negotiation with a network, it's not about salaries for the people on it.

"To begin with, it's how much money are you going to invest over a period of time and there's a lot of things that factor in that – what show are you going to be following, at what time of night, etc?

"So, until we resolve that, it's difficult to say (if the show will be returning next year]."

Cowell is already considering staging next year's final at a larger venue, such as the O2 Arena in London, instead of in its current studio setting.

He is also still negotiating his own 7.5m salary with ITV and is even reported to have brought in Top Shop billionaire businessman Philip Green to thrash out the deal for him.

Robert Beveridge, a lecturer in media policy at Edinburgh Napier University, said that Cowell's comments came as no surprise.

He said: "The man is a global phenomenon and in many ways he may be too big for ITV, or even the UK.

"ITV doesn't have much room for manoeuvre as he is just so valuable to them, to the extent that he is bigger than the channel now.

"If someone like Sky doesn't snap him up then I have also heard rumours that he may be wanting to have his own channel."

Cowell has also expressed interest in setting up other franchises with Green, including a world-wide internet-only X Factor show in Las Vegas.

The singing talent contest has seen viewing figures soar this year after changes in its format, including a new 1m hi-tech stage, led to it defeating BBC rival programme Strictly Come Dancing in the ratings war.

Last month Cowell, 50, who is also a judge on American Idol, was named by business website Forbes.com as the highest earner on US television.

He earned an estimated $75m (44.7m) from June 2008 to June 2009.

Tonight the remaining three X Factor contestants will be reduced to two, who will face each other in tomorrow night's final.