Interest in the BBC One programme has been on the slide ever since the series three years ago featuring John Sergeant, while The X Factor has seen constant year-on-year rises, according to data released by Google Insights. Interest in both shows was also found to be seasonal, peaking when they were on air.
Matt Brittin, the managing director of Google's UK and Ireland operations, presented the data for the two shows yesterday at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, reports The Guardian.
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© Talkback Thames / Ken McKay
Simon Cowell's show, which has already trounced Strictly Come Dancing in the Saturday night ratings battle for their respective new series, attracted ten times as many searches for last year's series.
The X Factor is already nearly five times ahead in terms of Google searches this month.
"The X Factor is higher and trending upwards, Strictly Come Dancing is tailing off," said Brittin.
Brittin also revealed that in terms of Google searches, Rowan Atkinson's comedy Mr Bean is most popular in Asia, particular in Pakistan.
See below Google's chart for Strictly Come Dancing versus The X Factor searches since 2004:
