Judges Simon Cowell, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Britney Spears and Demi Lovato give their opinions twice a week on this performance competition. Will The X Factor remain a ratings hit for FOX? Is twice a week too much? Stay tuned.

The second season of The X Factor typically airs twice a week on FOX, on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Below are the TV show’s latest Thursday ratings for the 2012-13 season, the best way to tell if The X Factor is going to be cancelled or renewed for season three.

These figures will be updated as the weeks progress so be sure to bookmark and return to this page:

Final Thursday season averages: 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 8.25 million total viewers.

Thursday, 12/20/12
3.1 in the demo (+29% change) with 9.66 million (+26% change).
Season averages: 2.81 in the demo with 8.25 million.

Thursday, 12/13/12
2.4 in the demo (-4% change) with 7.66 million (-2% change).
Season averages: 2.81 in the demo with 8.25 million.

Thursday, 12/06/12
2.5 in the demo (-7% change) with 7.84 million (-6% change).
Season averages: 2.81 in the demo with 8.25 million.

Thursday, 11/29/12
2.7 in the demo (-4% change) with 8.32 million (-8% change).
Season averages: 2.84 in the demo with 8.29 million.

Thursday, 11/22/12
2.8 in the demo (+17% change) with 9.03 million (+21% change).
Season averages: 2.86 in the demo with 8.29 million.

Thursday, 11/15/12
2.4 in the demo (+4% change) with 7.57 million (+18% change).
Season averages: 2.86 in the demo with 8.19 million.

Thursday, 11/08/12
2.3 in the demo (0% change) with 6.33 million (+1% change).
Season averages: 2.93 in the demo with 8.30 million.

Thursday, 11/01/12
2.3 in the demo (-21% change) with 6.24 million (-26% change).
Season averages: 3.03 in the demo with 8.62 million.

UPDATE: FOX has ordered a third season of The X Factor.

Thursday, 10/11/12
2.9 in the demo (-9% change) with 8.43 million (-9% change).
Season averages: 3.18 in the demo with 9.10 million.

Thursday, 10/04/12
3.2 in the demo (0% change) with 9.25 million (-2% change).
Season averages: 3.25 in the demo with 9.27 million.

Thursday, 09/27/12
3.2 in the demo (-9% change) with 9.39 million (-8% change).
Season averages: 3.27 in the demo with 9.27 million.

Thursday, 09/20/12
3.5 demo rating (+13% change) with 10.15 million (+23% change).
Season averages: 3.30 in the demo with 9.21 million.

Thursday, 09/13/12
3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 8.28 million viewers
Season averages: 3.10 in the demo with 8.28 million.

The competition series won its timeslot in the coveted demo but was beaten by the America’s Got Talent finale on NBC in total viewers. Year-to-year, this first Thursday episode was down by 27% in the demo (vs a 4.3 rating). Not a great start.

Note: These ratings are collected by the Nielsen company and are the final national numbers. These are different from the fast affiliate numbers which are just estimates of the actual ratings and are reported on by most other outlets. The final nationals are typically released within 24 hours of the programming or, in the case of weekends and holidays, a couple days later.

What do you think? Do you like The X Factor TV series? Do you think it should be cancelled or renewed for a third season?