Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Communications - Movies and Television, grade: 1,1, London Metropolitan University (London Metropolitan University), language: English, abstract: The X Factor is a reality pop program which first aired in the UK in September 2004 and which is still on screens today. The history of the sector is multi-faceted with the very first reality pop series, New Zealands Popstars, dating back to 1999. The X Factor emerged after Pop Idol, a similar show to Popstars, was put on indefinite hiatus after its second run. Ever since its first series, The X Factor has gone from strength to strength, with audience and voting figures increasing with each series. The single most important person behind The X Factor is music mogul Simon Cowell who created the show back in 2004. His television company SyCo TV produces the program together with Fremantle Medias talkbackTHAMES. The X Factor is aimed at reality TVs target demographic and manages to attract an audience of approximately 8-9m during its weekly live broadcasts. As the reality genre has proven particularly amenable to TV and media convergence, The X Factor does not just rely on the television set to communicate its message to its audiences. It also relies on other platforms, like the internet, live events and telephone voting, hence altering popular music consumption. With the audience determining the winner of The X Factor several albums released by contestants have reached the UK Albums Chart; six of them making it to number one.The X Factor is often heavily criticized for standardizing pop music. Winners of The X Factor are often referred to as over-hyped and over-manufactured artists with reality pop programs being accused of not producing important or lasting musicians. However the commercial success of The X Factor is indisputable, which as a result, continues to encourage the production of further X Factor series as well as similar shows to go on.