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"&lt;img alt=\"0922_xfactor-BN\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2011/09/22/0922-xfactor-bn.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The big \"&lt;strong&gt;X Factor&lt;/strong&gt;\" premiere last night fell way short of &lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/person/simon-cowell/\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Simon Cowell&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;'s expectations -- earning just over half the ratings \"&lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/category/american-idol/\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;American Idol&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\" got during its premiere in January.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Simon's new show averaged an 8.7 rating, while the tenth season premiere of \"Idol\" pulled in a 16.4 -- and in last night's head-to-head ... \"&lt;strong&gt;Modern Family&lt;/strong&gt;\" and \"&lt;strong&gt;Criminal Minds&lt;/strong&gt;\" won out. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Simon called in to TMZ Live yesterday -- telling us, he &lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/2011/09/21/simon-cowell-x-factor-american-idol-tmz-live/\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;desperately wanted to beat out&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; his alma mater in the ratings department ... but based on last night's performance, that's gonna be an uphill battle.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To be fair -- the first ever episode of \"American Idol\" only scored a 6.1 in 2002 ... and has since had years to build a loyal audience. Then again, singing competitions were new back then.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://photos.toofab.com/galleries/the_x_factor_season_premiere#tab=most_recent\"&gt;&lt;img alt=\"0922_factor_footer\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2011/09/22/0922-factor-footer-credit.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;!-- relatedlinks --&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2011/09/22/x-factor-american-idol-ratings-simon-cowell-tv-paula-abdul/3/>