The X Factor will help pull ITV out of its financial slump this year, by netting the channel £100 million of advertising revenue. Reports also suggest that Simon Cowell will earn £7 million from the 2009 series, which has been the most popular to date.

“The X Factor, including the website and ITV2′s Xtra Factor, is expected to generate a total of £102.5m for ITV in advertising alone,” Maggie Brown in the new issue of Radio Times, published today.

“Cowell is said to be paid an appearance fee of around £125,000 per hour, ITV’s top rate. This year’s series was expanded, at his insistence, from just a Saturday-night programme by adding a Sunday results show. So ITV1 is screening over 40 hours in total, which should earn Cowell £5m (at production company Talkback Thames, sources will only say his appearance fee is millions).

“Then, as the major owner of the format, Cowell reaps a format fee, and is paid, through his company Syco, a share of the production fee. He gets £2m or so from the two combined. ‘Not bad for weekend work, eh?’ says an envious producer.”

It’s not a surprise then that Mr Cowell intends to take the hit format to America. Just think what he can earn with it there?