RTÉ One
ON THE BACK OF RATINGS SUCCESS RTÉ’S TODAY WITH MAURA AND DÁITHÍ LAUNCH “VILLAGE WITH VISION” CAMPAIGN
Today with Maura and Dáithí is celebrating its most successful series to date. The series has been up consistently month –on-month since September and is currently the most popular daytime magazine show on Irish television.*
Since January the series has had an average audience** of 122,400 viewers and a 17% share. This represents a 19% share increase year on year.
Head of Production in RTÉ Cork Colm Crowley said: Maura, Dáithí and the team in Cork having been working very hard to brighten up the winter afternoons for Irish viewers and the ratings have proven once again that Maura and Dáithí are the brightest and most entertaining presenter couple we have seen on Irish TV for many years. On average the show reaches over 200,000*** viewers every day which we are extremely proud of. I’m also delighted to announce that we’re launching a new campaign today called “Village with Vision.” Today with Maura and Dáithí are partnering up with Calor Gas and the Irish Farmers Journal to find the most inspiring rural village in Ireland, shining the light on communities that have fought back despite continued urbanisation and budget cuts.”
On today’s show Maura and Dáithí launched their new Village with Vision campaign and are asking their viewers to nominate the village or town they think is worthy of the prize. The prize consists of Today with Maura and Dáithí being broadcast live from the winning town and €10,000 for their community, kindly donated by Calor Gas.
Presenter Maura Derrane said: “I grew up in the Aran Islands, in Inis Mór you couldn’t get more rural than that. I know the importance of a small community coming together. Unfortunately, in rural Ireland a lot of people are leaving and the reality is if people don’t pull together we will lose that sense of family, that sense of vision, that sense of achievement within rural communities. We want to put the spotlight on the people who are sometimes forgotten and reward those who have gone above and beyond within their community – making them a better place to live.”
Dáithí O Sé said: “I live in rural Ireland, I see the importance of rural Ireland, I see the importance of a community in rural Ireland. If you take the community out of rural Ireland – you have fields. Rural Ireland has had it tough of late – we want to recognise those people who have gone above and beyond for their community, because it’s those people, those small communities that make up the back bone of Ireland.”
To enter you need to be a fully formed community group. Please tell us 1000 words or less why you believe your community has the best ‘fight back’ community spirit in Ireland by giving us examples of the things you have done in your village to make life better for your community. Alternatively make a short video showing us around your village highlighting the community projects you’re most proud of – maximum length 3 minutes – and send the You Tube link to the Today team.
A Today reporter will visit all the shortlisted villages and Today with Maura and Dáithí will come live from the winning village on Wednesday March 9th with all aspects of the show embracing Irish rural life.
Today with Maura and Dáithí will come live from the winning village on March 9th, where we can give you the cheque live on television. Send your competition entry and contact details to today@rte.ie and mark the subject line #villagewithvision. The closing date for entries is Tuesday February 23rd. Make sure to tell the Today team what you would do with the €10,000 euro should your group win this huge prize.
-Ends-
Date: Monday February 8th 2016
#villagewithvision
For more information please contact:
Rayna Connery, RTÉ Television Press and Publicity Officer, T: 01 208 3169; M: 087 9862902, rayna.connery@rte.ie
Photographs of Maura and Dáithí will be sent to national picture desks and are available on request from rayna.connery@rte.ie
* Based on all other Monday to Friday live daytime series
**Consolidated average September 2015 to January 2016. Consolidated data incorporates VCR, DVDR and PVR playback viewing that took place within 7 days of the original broadcast. This time-shifted viewing is added to the live data to produce consolidated viewing data. Consolidated data is available 8 days after the original transmission date.
*** Reach is the total of the target audience who have viewed for at least a minute – shown as either a % or in 000s.