By Jon Boon - Breaking Celebrity News Reporter

Britney Spears may have done well on her first live show on The X Factor on Wednesday night, but the chances of her returning as a judge next season are looking slimmer by the day, Breaking Celebrity News is exclusively reporting.

The Fox talent competition is looking to reduce production costs next season with the first cut being the judges' salaries, and Britney, 30, is looking for a pay increase rather than a decrease when her contract expires at the end of the second season.

"Producers were hoping to pull in between 15-20 million viewers but the show hasn’t reached those expectations and in a recent episode that clashed with the World Series only 5.7 million watched," a show insider tells Breaking Celebrity News. "Those numbers add up to cost cutting and Britney will be expendable.

“So, considering Fox has already renewed The X Factor for a third season, producers will be looking to spend less on the production of the show, including the judges' salaries.