At its peak, 10.1m viewers tuned in to watch the 'boot camp' phase of 'The X Factor', in which a shortlist of six acts is drawn up in each of the four categories: groups, over 25s and girls and boys. On average, the show pulled in a 36% of the audience between 8pm and 9.15pm -- around 8.9m viewers.
ITV said the figure was up by 700,000 compared with the same point in the series last year, and that it was performing particularly well with viewers in the 16- to 34-year-old demographic.
By comparison, 'Strictly Come Dancing', which is now going head to head with 'The X Factor', had an average share of 33% of the available audience, which adds up to 7.9m viewers.
BBC One has been criticised for putting its reality TV show up against 'The X Factor' on Saturday night, but it has said that owing to other commitments, including live sport broadcasts, it was impossible to schedule it without some overlap with 'The X Factor'.
The Sunday night results show has been dropped, with contestants now performing two different dances over shows on Friday and Saturday nights. This week saw jockey Richard Dunwoody voted off the show, joining fellow sports champion Martina Hingis, who left last week.
The news came a day after ITV revealed it had ended discussions with Tony Ball over hiring him as chief executive, meaning it has to keep hunting for a successor to Michael Grade.
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