Michael Starr

Michael Starr

TV

‘X’ marks the (sales) spot

While Simon Cowell’s “The X Factor” has been a ratings disappointment, it has helped boost record sales for its contestants — especially over the past two weeks.

This is the first season the show has issued singles, and last week “X Factor” duo Alex & Sierra hit the #1 spot on iTunes with their cover of Great Big World’s “Say Something” (it’s currently ranked 9th). On Wednesday night, the duo performed a cover of “Gravity,” which hit #3 on iTunes shortly after the “X Factor” episode aired — and was #1 as of late Thursday. Their fellow front runner, Jeff Gutt, covered “Hallelujah,” which was ranked #5 on iTunes (also late Thursday).

“The X Factor” season finale airs Dec. 19 on Fox.

Last, but not least . . .

NUVOtv will begin airing all eight seasons of “Dexter” (Michael C. Hall) starting Jan. 14 — uncut and in their entirety . . . Ratings: “Face the Nation” (Bob Schieffer) won the Sunday morning race last week in viewers (3.4 million) and adults 25-54 (0.9). NBC, meanwhile, issued this statement: “We purposely made the decision to go with a full show dedicated to [the death of] Nelson Mandela without regard ratings, as we felt it was an important moment in history.” Ouch . . . CreativeLive has launched the first 24/7 digital education broadcast network carrying five channels of original content (creativelive.com) . . . International sports network beIn Sport has signed IMS as its rep for media buying/planning . . . Antenna TV will air holiday episodes via its slate of classic TV shows (“Green Acres,” “Sanford and Son,” “Barney Miller” et al.) from 6:30 a.m. Dec. 24 to 4 a.m. Dec. 26 — and will air the Yule Log (5-9 a.m.) Dec. 25 . . . Books: “Saturday Night Live FAQ,” written by Stephen Tropiano, takes an episode-by-episode look at the show’s first 38 seasons (745 episodes).