RTÉ TELEVISION BROADCAST 47 OF THE TOP 50 PROGRAMMES OF 2011
RTÉ Television delivered 47 out of the 50 most-watched programmes on Irish television in 2011 and all bar two of these were home-produced.*
“With the vast array of channel choice now available to Irish viewers, the fact that RTÉ remains so firmly the channel of choice for the Irish public is deeply gratifying. In these economically challenged times and in the face ever-increasing competition and choice, it is no small achievement to have delivered over 4,000 hours of original, relevant and high calibre programming that has proved to have been of such strong appeal. The public’s loyalty to RTÉ programming is something we continue to strive to earn and in no way take for granted.” Glen Killane, MD RTÉ Television
Rating highly across all genres from News and Current Affairs, Sports, Drama, Entertainment and Lifestyle, the most watched programme of the year was The Late Late Toy Show, securing an **average viewership of 1,528,000 viewers in December of last year, making it the most watched programme on Irish television in 17 years. Also within the Entertainment genre other favourites such as The Eurovision Song Contest and Rose of Tralee, new series Mrs Brown’s Boys proved to be a huge hit with viewers this year, with the Christmas special attracting an average audience of 952,000. Almost 700,000 viewers tuned in to countdown the New Year’s Eve Live Show which featured an array of RTÉ talent, both past and present, and The Saturday Night Show rated well across the year peaking at 596,000 last January.
Key milestones of 2011 feature prominently amongst the top-rating programmes. The most popular television sporting event proved to be the All Ireland Senior Football Final (Kerry vs Dublin) in September of last year, attracting an average audience of 1,085,000 viewers securing it the number three position in the overall line-up. Other sporting events which attracted large audiences included the All Ireland Senior Hurling Final (Kilkenny vs Tipperary), The Six Nations Rugby, the Euro 2012 Play Off and The Rugby World Cup.
The Irish public also chose RTÉ as their channel of choice for its coverage of politics, and News and Current Affairs. The Frontline Leaders Debate in the final days before the General Election attracted an audience of 964,000 viewers making it the fourth most-watched programme in 2011. The Prime Time Leaders Debate, Prime Time’s Presidential Election Special and The Frontline (final Presidential candidate debate) all attracted audiences of over 650,000 as did RTÉ’s coverage of the visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama to Ireland. Crisis – Inside the Cowen Government also commanded strong viewership with an average audience of 612,000.
Irish life is also reflected across a diverse range of factual and lifestyle programmes some of which proved to be particularly resonant for audiences. New commissions such as Secret Millionaire, Departure Day, Arrivals, What’s Ireland Eating? and Property Crash – Where To Now? All attracted audiences ranging from 550,000 – 673,000. High quality, and original lifestyle commissions also proved to be of strong appeal with series such as Operation Transformation, Room to Improve, At Your Service and Roomers all had at least one episode which attracted an audience of 585,000 or more.
2011 also proved to be an exceptional year for RTÉ Drama. Its long-running series Fair City commanded strong audience share right across the year; its top rating single episode (featuring Bob Charles’ return to Carrigstown) was in January 2011 and attracted an audience of 764,000. Returning series LOVE/HATE, (recently nominated for 10 IFTAs), proved to be even more popular than the first series; its top-rating episode featured the shock killing of gangland boss John Boy played by Aidan Gillen. That episode was watched by an average audience of 691,400. The third series of RAW continued to command high figures, the second episode pulling in an average of 649,000 viewers.
The role of RTÉ Television is to produce high calibre programming which informs, inspires, and entertains Irish viewers; it bears unique responsibilities in reflecting Irish political, social and cultural life. From its inception, RTÉ Television has endeavoured to serve the public well and the high audience figures commanded by RTÉ Television across the year, across such a diverse range of programmes, are strong evidence that we honour this commitment and to the highest standards. Glen Killane, MD RTÉ Television.
*Source: TAM Ireland Ltd/Nielsen TAM. Ranking is based on best episode of shows/series of 15+ minutes duration broadcast between 1 January 2011 and 31st December 2011, on any television channel, available in Ireland at any time.
** All figures are Consolidated National Individuals 4+.(The Consolidated audience is the sum of the live viewing plus viewing recorded and played back within 7 days)
Additional Note: As the minimum programme duration is 15 minutes, the RTÉ News Special (Enda Kenny’s address) on 4th Dec, 21.30-21.43 will not be included above.
Description Channel Date 000s Share
1 The Late Late Toy Show RTÉ One 02-12-2011 1,528.8 68.77
2 The Eurovision Song Contest RTÉ One 14-05-2011 1,182.7 63.50
3 The Sunday Game Live (Snr Footbal Final Kerry vs. Dub) RTÉ Two 18-09-2011 1,085.2 68.84
4 The Frontline Leaders Debate RTÉ One 14-02-2011 964.8 58.06
5 Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special RTÉ One 25-12-2011 951.7 49.19
6 Mrs Brown’s Boys RTÉ One 05-02-2011 924.2 52.36
7 The Late Late Show RTÉ One 11-02-2011 886.1 55.67
8 The Sunday Game Live (SnrHurling Final Kilkenny vs. Tip) RTÉ Two 04-09-2011 847.0 63.19
9 The Rose Of Tralee RTÉ One 23-08-2011 829.2 52.95
10 RTE News: Nine O’Clock RTÉ One 20-03-2011 813.3 42.68
11 Prime Time Leaders Debate RTÉ One 22-02-2011 806.7 47.55
12 The Frontline RTÉ One 24-10-2011 791.9 46.41
13 RTE News: Six One RTÉ One 17-01-2011 771.1 53.98
14 Fair City RTÉ One 04-01-2011 764.4 43.48
15 The All Ireland Talent Show RTÉ One 20-03-2011 749.7 42.22
16 Coronation Street TV3 03-01-2011 749.4 38.38
17 The X Factor – The Result TV3 06-11-2011 729.6 36.42
18 Prime Time Investigates RTÉ One 16-05-2011 723.1 43.35
19 Queen Elizabeth II In Ireland RTÉ One 19-05-2011 710.4 45.78
20 New Year’s Eve Show Live RTÉ One 31-12-2011 696.1 51.56
21 Six Nations Rugby (Ireland vs. England) RTÉ Two 19-03-2011 690.4 47.34
22 Love/Hate RTÉ One 04-12-2011 691.4 40.49
23 Election 2011 RTÉ One 26-02-2011 684.4 45.55
24 The Secret Millionaire RTÉ One 19-09-2011 681.5 41.62
25 Departure Day RTÉ One 10-01-2011 673.6 38.51
26 The X Factor TV3 05-11-2011 668.7 36.71
27 President Obama In Ireland RTÉ One 23-05-2011 663.7 60.07
28 Prime Time Presidential Election Special RTÉ One 12-10-2011 654.6 41.81
29 Raw RTÉ One 16-01-2011 649.0 36.47
30 Euro 2012 Play Off RTÉ Two 15-11-2011 649.0 37.24
31 Eastenders RTÉ One 04-01-2011 645.6 36.40
32 Room To Improve RTÉ One 28-09-2011 643.3 40.94
33 Operation Transformation RTÉ One 05-01-2011 640.5 35.68
34 Winning Streak RTÉ One 15-01-2011 638.2 37.34
35 Reeling In The Years RTÉ One 03-01-2011 634.3 39.99
36 Rugby World Cup 2011 Live RTÉ Two 02-10-2011 631.6 69.65
37 Crisis – Inside The Cowen Government RTÉ One 07-11-2011 612.4 34.46
38 Micheala – Finding Peace RTÉ One 20-04-2011 604.3 35.97
39 The Saturday Night Show RTÉ One 22-01-2011 596.3 39.99
40 At Your Service RTÉ One 06-03-2011 591.3 35.61
41 Prime Time RTÉ One 20-01-2011 590.0 38.04
42 Roomers RTÉ One 03-04-2011 585.1 35.36
43 Arrivals RTÉ One 21-11-2011 583.1 33.15
44 What’s Ireland Eating? RTÉ One 08-05-2011 573.9 36.68
45 Dragons’ Den RTÉ One 20-02-2011 571.6 34.01
46 For One Night Only…Christy Moore RTÉ One 29-07-2011 565.3 39.08
47 Ear To The Ground RTÉ One 11-01-2011 563.5 32.10
48 Saturday Night With Miriam RTÉ One 16-07-2011 547.7 39.05
49 Property Crash – Where To Now? RTÉ One 10-10-2011 549.8 32.80
50 Desperate Housewives RTÉ Two 24-05-2011 541.3 33.51
Issued: Thursday 19 of January, 2012.
Contact: Tara O’Brien, Snr Press Officer, TV Press Office, Tel: 01 2082287 / tara.obrien@rte.ie