ITV Britain's Got Talent finale drops to lowest ever ratings amid speculation over future
Britain's Got Talent has seen its lowest ratings in its low history
ITV
Britain's Got Talent concluded for the year on Sunday, but the finale seems to have pulled in the ITV show's worst ratings ever.
Sydnie Christmas was crowned the winner of the 17th series of the show, but only 5.2 million viewers witnessed the live moment, a slight drop from last year's 5.3 million finale viewers.
The show has been an ITV staple since 2007, but now declining viewing ratings has led to speculation over its future.
Since 2009, Britain's Got Talent has seen a steady drop in ratings, with dance act Diversity and singer Susan Boyle pulling in 16.3 million people that year as they battled it out to be crowned the winner.
In 2020, only 6.5 million watched the final, a stark drop from the previous year's 10.1 million.
However, ITV has applauded the show for bringing in its "biggest overnight audience of the year so far" minus the FA Cup.
WHAT 🌟 A 🌟 MOMENT 🌟
— BGT (@BGT) June 2, 2024
Congrats to all of our incredible Finalists on a sensational night of talent, and especially to your WINNER, Sydnie Christmas!
Watch that winning moment here: https://t.co/7POA8AM3VI #BGT #BritainsGotTalent #BGTFinal pic.twitter.com/c4GFVVAutF
The 5.2 million strong audience on Sunday earned the show a 39 percent share, with a peak of 6.5 million watching the winner declared.
ITV commented: "This meant the show was the highest rated across the weekend on any channel and ensured ITV was the most watched channel during primetime across the entire weekend."
However, some believe the drop in figures casts doubt on the show's future.
Betting site Ladbrokes had reported odds of 6/1 that the programme will be axed in 2024, meaning next year's show will be the last.
Cowell has starred in the ITV show since 2007
ITV
A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: "Viewing figures only seem to be heading in one direction, and the odds suggest the most recent series could well have been the last," as reported by Metro.
Meanwhile, the finale sparked a backlash on Sunday over winner Christmas, 28.
She has faced huge criticism over her theatre background prior to auditioning for the show.
Addressing the votes and subsequent "fix" row post-victory, Christmas has now said: "The public ultimately have to vote, don't they?
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Christmas was crowned winner on Sunday
ITV
"They could have voted for whoever they wanted to win. It wouldn't have mattered if I'd gone first."
Referencing the row, she added to OK!: "I don't know what to say, soul-destroying isn't it?
"It's difficult, it takes it away from how hard the journey was or how rewarding the success is. They just think that, 'Oh, it's obvious it was given to her.' It really wasn't.
"I had to graft. I had to really graft and believe and want."
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