NOT A GOOD WORLD CUP, BUT A GREAT WORLD CUP FOR RTÉ

World Cup - Darragh Maloney and Bill O'Herlihy Image Name: World Cup - Darragh Maloney and Bill O'Herlihy Description: World Cup Copyright: © RTÉ. This image may only be published in print or online for editorial use during the publicity period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the transmission week of the relevant programme or event and three review weeks following) for the purpose of publicising the programme, person or service pictured and provided RTÉ and the copyright holder in the caption are credited.In certain cases particular images may be subject to embargo. For use outside of these terms and conditions please contact the RTÉ Television Press Office. Please see http://www.rte.ie/about/organisation/terms.html for full terms and conditions for rte.ie
World Cup - Apres Match Image Name: World Cup - Apres Match Description: Apres Match Copyright: © RTÉ. This image may only be published in print or online for editorial use during the publicity period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the transmission week of the relevant programme or event and three review weeks following) for the purpose of publicising the programme, person or service pictured and provided RTÉ and the copyright holder in the caption are credited.In certain cases particular images may be subject to embargo. For use outside of these terms and conditions please contact the RTÉ Television Press Office. Please see http://www.rte.ie/about/organisation/terms.html for full terms and conditions for rte.ie
World Cup Image Name: World Cup Description: World Cup Copyright: © RTÉ. This image may only be published in print or online for editorial use during the publicity period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the transmission week of the relevant programme or event and three review weeks following) for the purpose of publicising the programme, person or service pictured and provided RTÉ and the copyright holder in the caption are credited.In certain cases particular images may be subject to embargo. For use outside of these terms and conditions please contact the RTÉ Television Press Office. Please see http://www.rte.ie/about/organisation/terms.html for full terms and conditions for rte.ie
World Cup - Ossie Ardiles Image Name: World Cup - Ossie Ardiles Description: World Cup Copyright: © RTÉ. This image may only be published in print or online for editorial use during the publicity period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the transmission week of the relevant programme or event and three review weeks following) for the purpose of publicising the programme, person or service pictured and provided RTÉ and the copyright holder in the caption are credited.In certain cases particular images may be subject to embargo. For use outside of these terms and conditions please contact the RTÉ Television Press Office. Please see http://www.rte.ie/about/organisation/terms.html for full terms and conditions for rte.ie
Bill O'Herlihy World Cup Trophy Image Name: Bill O'Herlihy World Cup Trophy Description: World Cup Copyright: © RTÉ. This image may only be published in print or online for editorial use during the publicity period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the transmission week of the relevant programme or event and three review weeks following) for the purpose of publicising the programme, person or service pictured and provided RTÉ and the copyright holder in the caption are credited.In certain cases particular images may be subject to embargo. For use outside of these terms and conditions please contact the RTÉ Television Press Office. Please see http://www.rte.ie/about/organisation/terms.html for full terms and conditions for rte.ie

3.1 million* tune in for World Cup tournament on RTÉ Two

5.8 million page impressions on RTÉ.ie/World Cup

World Cup 2010 proved a huge hit with Irish audiences, with RTÉ Two’s coverage of the tournament reaching 3.1 million*- 3 out of every 4 people in Ireland, while RTÉ.ie’s dedicated World Cup site attracted 5.8 million page impressions.

Over 200 hours of coverage were delivered across RTÉ Two, RTÉ.ie and RTÉ Radio.

The World Cup Final attracted the highest TV audience of the tournament when an average of 762,200 viewers watched the entire four-hour programme on RTÉ Two, with the audience peaking at over 1.1 million** viewers. Last Sunday’s final attracted higher audiences than both finals of the last two World Cup tournaments (Korea & Japan 2002, Germany 2006) as well as the Euro 2008 Final. This also makes it the number one most popular sports event on Irish television so far this year, as well as being among the top 5 programmes watched on any channel in Ireland***.

In addition, to high television audiences, there were over 700,000 live match streams on RTÉ.ie and a further 750,000 streams were viewed on-demand on RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Two’s coverage beat all other competition hands down, with new signings Ossie Ardiles and Didi Hamann adding to RTÉ’s unrivalled team of analysts who included Eamon Dunphy, John Giles, Liam Brady, Ronnie Whelan and Graeme Souness. Après Match added to viewers’ enjoyment of the tournament on RTÉ Two and were also a hit on RTÉ Player where they notched up over 70,000 views in addition to almost 400,000 views on RTÉ YouTube****.

Ryle Nugent, Group Head of RTÉ Sport said, “We’re delighted that the Irish public have enjoyed RTÉ’s coverage of World Cup 2010 in such huge numbers. We always strive to deliver the highest standards of presentation, analysis and commentary, and in the face of competition from broadcasters with far greater resources, it’s testament to the hard work and passion of our team both on-screen and behind the scenes, that RTÉ remains the number one choice for Irish fans”.

He added, “There’ll be plenty more for sports fans to look forward to this summer with coverage of the Galway Races, European Athletics Championships, Irish Open Golf, rugby and soccer from the Aviva stadium, as well as live GAA as the Championships come to a climax”.

Note to editors:

All RTÉ Television audience data sourced from AGB Nielsen
RTÉ.ie data source- Urchin Analytics June / July 2010
RTÉ.ie streaming stats data source Blue Metrics June July 2010

*15 min+ reach- 3,104,000 million viewers tuned in for 15 minutes or more over the course of the tournament
** Minute Peak at 22.02 1,107,700 individuals
***Based on all channels any day any time, best episode, ranked by TVR, min prog duration 15 minutes for Indiv 4+
**** Apres Match views on RTÉ YouTube -391,051 on RTÉPlayer 71, 147