ITV was rumoured to be charging £8,000 per second for advertising in the X-Factor final

"Media analysts predict this weekend will prove the most lucrative in ITV's history. So far, the biggest viewing figures for The X Factor were garnered on the night that 16.4 million tuned in to witness the fate of the Irish twins John and Edward Grimes, better known as Jedward. This beat the 14 million who saw Alexandra Burke sail to victory last year. The strange appeal of Jedward has already given ITV1 its biggest viewing figures for last month, when 14.4 million watched in amazement as the teenagers ousted Welsh singer Lucie Jones from the show on 8 November.
These high ratings helped the channel last month, when BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4 and Five each posted their lowest November audience share for years. ITV1, in contrast, managed an all-day share that was its best November performance since 2006. The popularity of ITV1's I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! has also paid dividends. The ratings for the jungle reality series were the best since 2005.
This weekend affords a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel for the ailing broadcaster, which is still wrestling with falling viewing figures and advertising income. A year ago, ITV executives were braced for a 20% plunge in revenues as advertising dropped off the scale. But thanks to The X Factor and Simon Cowell's other monster hit, Britain's Got Talent, revenues could now fall by only 12%.
The channel is thought to be able to charge as much as £250,000 for 30 seconds of advertising airtime on The X Factor tonight. "If you're not on X Factor this weekend, you won't get your message across," said George Constantinou of Starcom MediaVest."
Source: The Observer, 13th December 2009
[The £8,000 a second/ £250,000 for 30 seconds figure has also been mentioned by TV buyer colleagues]