Ireland v Canada most watched women's team sport event in Irish TV history
Ireland v Australia biggest live event of the year on RT Player
RT 's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 broke audience records as television live match broadcasts plus highlights reached over half of the TV-owning population. The Republic of Ireland's group game against Canada was the highest rating game on RT 2 and the most watched women's team sport event in Irish TV history with an average of 551,000 viewers.
The average share of viewing on RT 2, excluding Ireland games, was more than double (20.7%) the average share for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (8.9%) while average streams per match on RT Player were more than double* the number seen in 2019.
Ireland's opening match against Australia was the biggest live event of the year on RT Player with 368,000 live streams, and the second highest live streamed event ever on the platform.** Yesterday's Final, which saw Spain defeat England 1-0 to become World Champions for the first time, was watched by an average of 333,000 people on RT 2, with a 48.3% share of viewing. It registered 69,400 live streams on RT Player.
RT Group Head of Sport, Declan McBennett, said The audience engagement figures across all platforms on RT Sport show that women's sport at international level continues to grow, excel and inspire. This growth must be matched now at national level to provide the legacy the tournament deserves and the platform for further participation growth.
Meanwhile there were 10 million page views of FIFA Women's World Cup content on RT .ie/Sport and the RT News app, with the first two Ireland live blogs reaching 500,000 for the opener against Australia and 439,000 for the second group game v Canada. Both live blogs currently rank among the top 20 sport articles of the year. The Women's World Cup podcast has had over 70,000 streams on RT platforms, Spotify, Apple and YouTube while the RT Soccer podcast had approximately another 12,000 streams.
RT 's longstanding commitment to the Republic of Ireland's women's team continues with coverage of their Nations League campaign beginning next month with live coverage across RT platforms of the game against Northern Ireland the WNT's first game in the Aviva Stadium.
The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 in numbers:
Coverage of the Women's World Cup on RT television reached 2.4m people, or 53% of the TV population (1+ minute cumulative reach, live match coverage plus highlights)
The highest rating match on TV was Ireland's second group game against Canada. It was the most watched women's team sporting event in Irish TV history with an average of 551,000 viewers on RT 2
Excluding Ireland games, the average share of viewing on TV was 20.7% which was more than double the 8.9% average share on RT for the Women's World Cup in 2019 (live play)
Total streams on RT Player exceeded 1.3m across the tournament (live matches plus highlights; live streaming and vod), while average streams per match were more than double the number seen for the Women's World Cup in 2019*
Ireland's opening match against Australia was the biggest live event of the year on RT Player with 368,000 live streams, and the second highest live streamed event ever on the platform**
The World Cup final, which saw Spain crowned world champions for the first time, was watched by an average of 333,000 people on RT 2, yielding a 48.3% share of viewing. It registered 69,400 live streams on RT Player
*the average excludes Ireland matches
**Men's FIFA World Cup Final 2022 490,000Source: Nielsen/TAM (Live + VOSDAL, Inds 4+), Piano
More from RTE
12/09/2025
The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, and Patrick Kielt...
12/09/2025
The World Athletics Championships, Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the Irish Champions Festival, and two Sports Direct Men...
12/09/2025
The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player.
Katie Hanno...
11/09/2025
Tonight on Prime Time
RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
Tonight RT Prime Time...
11/09/2025
RT Statement: 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
At the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns ...
10/09/2025
RT brings three days of live radio, live entertainment, live news, live weather, personal appearances, and more
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, The Oliver ...
09/09/2025
The Autumn Schedule has begun on RT Raidi na Gaeltachta, with a feast of music, entertainment, news and current affairs programmes as well as an interesting s...
05/09/2025
This weekend sees another feast in store for all sport fans as RT airs a jam-packed schedule of live, free-to-air sport.
The Amgen Irish Open continues all we...
04/09/2025
CELEBRATE CULTURE NIGHT ON RT
A rich schedule of live music and performances across RT services
RT will again celebrate Culture Night on Friday 19th Sept...
04/09/2025
RT shares first look images of drama series The Walsh Sisters, based on the novels by Marian Keyes
Coming to RT One and RT Player from Sunday 28 September,...
03/09/2025
My Story: Georgie - Cow Queen airs on RT 2 this Wednesday, September 3 at 4pm.
...
02/09/2025
This September, RT is delighted to support Culture Night, Dublin Theatre Festival, Limerick Jazz Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival and 17 other amazing arts and...
02/09/2025
RT and Virgin Media Television have today (Tuesday 2 September 2025) announced ...
01/09/2025
24 players have entered Slane Castle ready to outwit, outplay and outlast in the ultimate game of trust and deception.
The Traitors Ireland has commenced.
Her...
01/09/2025
First time television presenter Cathal Dowd, aged 23, from Wexford is the newest addition to the news2day team. news2day is RT 's news service designed spec...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
27/08/2025
Filmed over the course of 20 years in Ireland's wild Atlantic, Dolphins: Wonders of the Ocean begins this Sunday.
From underwater cameraman Ken O'Sulli...
25/08/2025
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as proud food sponsor of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player on August 31.
The partnership will be...
22/08/2025
Join Jacqui Hurley as she leads RT 's television coverage of the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, with reporting from the Irish camp by Clare MacNamara. Co...
21/08/2025
RT today announces its exciting upcoming slate of video content, taking viewers from Autumn 2025 to Spring 2026 across RT One, RT 2 and RT Player. From an un...
20/08/2025
A record high of 202,000 watched on RT Player from 102 countries including Unit...
19/08/2025
RT Commercial has today announced Vodafone Ireland as the official broadcast sp...
18/08/2025
Cinematic classics in Waterford (6 September), classical in Drogheda (12 Septemb...
12/08/2025
All aboard! RT presenters D ith S and Kathryn Thomas meet this year's 3...
11/08/2025
The game of betrayal has come to Ireland and the walls of Slane Castle have secrets to tell
Sunday, August 31
RT One and RT Player
The Traitors Ireland | ...
08/08/2025
The Hills Are Alive: A Year at Kylemore Abbey starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player
The Hills Are Alive: A Year at Kylemore Abbey, a new RT obser...
08/08/2025
Kieran's last C il House will be live from Fleadh Cheoil na h ireann this Saturday August 9
After three decades at the helm of RT Radio 1's C il Hou...
07/08/2025
RT has today announced the appointment of Mark Simpson to the role of Managing Editor, RT Radio 1.
Reporting to the Head of RT Radio 1, Tara Campbell, Mark ...
06/08/2025
Hosted by comedian Kevin McGahern, the companion show will spill the cloak-and-dagger secrets from The Traitors Ireland
Trust no one except maybe the host
G...
01/08/2025
This August, RT is delighted to support National Heritage Week, Waterford Walls, Kilkenny Arts Festival and 23 other arts and cultural events across the countr...
31/07/2025
It is with profound sadness that RT announces the death of radio presenter and actor Se n Rocks. Se n died last night following a brief illness at the age of 6...
28/07/2025
Kerry's dominant All Ireland Football Final display draws a peak of over one...
28/07/2025
Kerry's dominant All Ireland Football Final display draws a peak of over one...
23/07/2025
This series highlights some of Shelbourne Football Club's finest players and...
22/07/2025
RT Register of External Activities Q1/2025
RT is today publishing a statistical summary from the Register of External Activities for the first quarter of 20...
22/07/2025
Tipperary's epic second half All Ireland Hurling Final comeback draws over o...
22/07/2025
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of journalist, Petula Martyn, as Mid West Correspondent. Petula will be reporting and providing analysis across ...
22/07/2025
Catherine O'Toole, Head of Marketing at Very said: The Traitors is a show that has become a global phenomenon, a cultural moment that sparks conversation, ...
18/07/2025
Up for the Match brings the fun, the passion-and a bit of Riverdance- tomorrow n...
17/07/2025
The summer is here and RT Radio 1 has unveiled a lively seasonal lineup, packed...
15/07/2025
Peak audiences of over half a million tune into both Kerry v Tyrone and Donegal ...
14/07/2025
Enhancing Public Service Broadcasting with
Innovation, Accuracy & Sustainability
New regional detail and local towns featured...
07/07/2025
RT has announced that Mark Bignell has been appointed Commissioning Editor for Comedy following a public competition. This senior editorial position will drive...
04/07/2025
The Pitch comes to RT Radio 1 airwaves this Sunday at 7pm. The Pitch is a brand...
01/07/2025
The Traitors are coming: Get your first taste of the global hit as Season 1 of T...
01/07/2025
RT has announced that Teresa Smith has been appointed Commissioning Editor with responsibility for Factual Entertainment following a public competition. This s...
01/07/2025
This July, RT is delighted to support Galway International Arts Festival, Earagail Arts Festival in Donegal, Belfast TradFest and 23 other arts and cultural ev...
30/06/2025
All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...
Ireland v Canada most watched women's team sport event in Irish TV history
