Simon Cowell on Return of U.S. X FACTOR: 'I Think It Will Come Back Again'

Simon Cowell, a producer most notably know for his musically-centered television talent shows, has had quite a long success streak in the past decade. However, the recent cancelation of the American 'X Factor' was quite a hard hit for him.

Billboard.com reveals that Cowell attributes the declining success of 'The X Factor' to his high hopes for the show before it even started. 'I stupidly said at the beginning, 'We're going to get 20 million people.' I didn't realize the market had changed so quickly and we got 12. So I felt from the outset that we'd failed and so did everybody else. I should have thought, 'Actually, 12 is fantastic', and kept my mouth shut. I think, on both sides, it was a mistake to throw the towel in, Cowell said.

However, Cowell's hope for the show did not end there. In an interview with FT Weekend, he said, 'I think it will come back again. [...] I think if they'd stuck with it and I'd had a bit more confidence, I would have turned that show around in a couple of years. I would have just kept on banging away, banging away. You get one lucky year with casting, you get a One Direction, and the whole thing turns on its head.'

Currently, Simon Cowell has returned to his native UK to work with the original X Factor, so far with mixed results. It seems, however, that the continued success of One Direction will keep him, and his shows, going for quite some time.

Image via X Factor official Facebook page.