[Matt]

"The X Factor" U.S. is headed for cancellation, according to many industry insiders. "The X Factor" executive producer Simon Cowell and his "X Factor" colleagues are no doubt furious or panicking about it, and the cancellation probably won't be officially decided until after the show's live episodes begin in November 2012, but the damage has been done.

There are many reasons for the downward spiral of "The X Factor" U.S., but Fox (the U.S. network for the show) has now made it abundantly clear that "The X Factor" U.S. is no longer a priority for the network because of the way Fox botched the new episode that was supposed to be televised in its entirety on October 17, 2012. (Click here for recap of the episode.) Fox announced that the two-hour episode has been rescheduled to be televised in its entirety on October 23, 2012 at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time.

Not surprisingly, Fox received many viewer complaints about this sudden programming change, but behind the scenes, perhaps the biggest complainer has been Cowell. After all, he has the most at stake (besides his ego and pride) over the failure of "The X Factor" U.S.

And make no mistake: Fox is now treating "The X Factor" U.S. as a big-time failure, not because it's the lowest-rated show on the network (because it isn't Fox's lowest-rated show) but because it's become a money pit for the network. Major League Baseball (MLB) on Fox makes millions more for Fox than "The X Factor" does, so it should come as no surprise that Fox will give MLB games priority over "The X Factor," even if it means interrupting "X Factor" episodes.

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-...es-of-the-show

A massive embarrassment for Cowell given that he seriously expected it to get 20 million viewers