RTÉ Attracts Highest Audience for All Ireland Football Final in Five Years
RTÉ Television’s bumper coverage of the 2007 GAA Championship came to a climax yesterday with live coverage of this year’s All Ireland Senior Football Championship Final attracting the highest audience for the event in the last five years.
The first-ever all-Munster final, which saw Kerry retain their Championship crown, attracted an average of 769,000 viewers for the duration of the game with a peak audience of 890,000* people tuning in to the match on The Sunday Game Live.
This year’s final attracted an increase of 60,000** viewers on last year. The match, which was available free-to-air on RTÉ Two, was the highest rating sports event on Irish television throughout the previous week.
Glen Killane, Group Head of Sport, RTÉ said, “This fantastic audience climax is a culmination of the momentum driven throughout the Championship season across RTÉ Television, Radio and Online. We have attracted strong audiences throughout the 52 games broadcast exclusively live on RTÉ Television this summer, enabling the widest possible audiences to enjoy the passion and excitement of our national games. The increase in audience proves that GAA thrives when it’s made available to all to for no additional cost”.
The Sunday Game evening highlights programme on RTÉ Two also proved hugely successful as a quarter of a million*** people tuned in for the two hour programme which included live links from the celebrations in the Kerry team hotel. The programme has continued to go from strength to strength this season attracting a 5% increase in audience year-on-year.
RTÉ’s Championship coverage continues this Sunday as Michael Lyster presents coverage of the Ladies All-Ireland Football Final on RTÉ Two at 11.40pm.
Date: Monday, 17 September, 2007
Source: AGB Nielsen Media Research
* All peak figures quoted are one minute peaks
** The 2006 All Ireland Senior Football final attracted an average audience of 709,000 which increased by 60,000 this year to an average audience of 769,000.
*** Average audience of 250,000