RT Delivers 44 of the Top 50 Most Watched TV Programmes in Ireland in 2022 as Irish Content Beats International Competition
RT Player has record breaking 2022 with 83.3 million streams
RT Sport, Entertainment, News & Current Affairs, Drama, Factual programmes and documentaries among most watched
In 2022, Irish audiences continued to choose Irish content above international fare as the viewing figures for 2022 released by TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media demonstrate.
49 of the Top 50 most watched TV programmes by Irish audiences were home-produced. 1
RT provided 44 of the 50 most watched TV programmes in 20221, as audiences engaged with live sport, entertainment, trusted news, gripping factual programmes, Irish documentaries and local drama.
Even with the increased availability of international streaming services, TAM Ireland research shows that the average Irish adult in a TV home watches 2 hours 35 mins of broadcaster content on a TV set every day, 85% of which is live and 15% watched as catch up.2
Looking at total viewing across all devices, 70% of the Irish audiences daily viewing is of broadcaster content, 11% with streaming services such as Netflix etc. and 19% with video sharing platforms such as YouTube and Tik-Tok.3
RT 's mix of live and on-demand services have both proven hugely popular this year. RT Player served a record breaking 83.3 million streams in 20224 with a mix of sport, Irish and international drama, news, entertainment and factual programmes.
The Late Late Toy Show retained pole position at the top of the Irish TV viewing chart with over 1.5 million viewers enjoying the quintessentially live and Irish collective viewing experience.
2022 saw Irish viewers enthralled with national and international sport with nine of the top ten most watched programmes all free-to-air sport. The All-Ireland Senior Football Final (872,000) was the second most watched programme overall. RT 's GAA Championship coverage saw our national games net 8 of the top 50 programmes, while The Saturday/Sunday Game Live attracted over 1.6 million streams on RT Player during the year.
RT Sport's coverage of FIFA World Cup 2022 scored hugely with Irish fans with over 8.2 million streams of the tournament on RT Player and 13 of the Top 50 most watched TV programmes of the year on TV. Argentina V Croatia (784,000) and Argentina v France (783,700) on RT 2 scored 5th and 6th place respectively on the most watched TV programmes table.
Irish audiences continued to love Irish local drama in 2022 with Fair City (482, 700) and Clare-based Smother (425,000) being the only drama to make the Top 50 most watched TV programmes. RT Player saw audiences engage with a mix of the best of Irish and international drama, with drama programmes delivering 13 of the Top 25 most streamed programmes on the service.
2022 also saw Irish audiences come together for feelgood entertainment and heart-warming Irish stories with The Late Late Show (Jan 14, 567,000), NYE Countdown with Westlife (557,000), Dancing With The Stars (Jan 9, 544,000), Rose of Tralee (516,000), The Tommy Tiernan Show (Jan 8, 499,000), Ireland's Fittest Family (Nov 11, 447,000), DIY SOS (Apr 3, 450,000), Reeling in the Years (Jan 4, 447,000) and Operation Transformation (Jan 26, 440,000) all scoring a place in the Top 50 most watched TV programmes.
Unique Irish stories captured Irish audiences' attention with RT programmes Quinn Country (29 November, 480,000), Crime and Confessions (Jan 24, 465,000) and RT Investigates (Feb 14, 499,000) all making the most watched TV programmes of 2022.
The public continued to choose RT for trusted News & Current Affairs in 2022 with the most watched news programme of the year on any channel being the RT Six One News on January 21 with 655,000 viewers watching, as the Taoiseach announced the end of Covid restrictions from the following day. The RT Nine O'Clock News on February 27 had 593,000 viewers as President Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces to be on alert on day four of the invasion of Ukraine. The two evening bulletins collectively also generated almost 4 million streams on the RT Player throughout the year.
RT Director of Content, Jim Jennings said, RT exists to serve Irish audiences and it's heartening to see that Irish audiences chose Irish content above all else and that RT 's content continues to score so highly. The audience is always top of mind for us when commissioning and creating programming whether that be sport, drama, documentaries or factual programming. We thank our partners in sport and in the independent production sector for working with us as we look forward to continuing to deliver a unique mix of Irish content in 2023 .
Notes to Editors:
1. Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen- Top 50 Programmes 2022
Based on Individuals 4+, All Subscribing Channels, Averaging Option: Any Day, Any Time, Best Episode, Minimum Duration 10 Minutes. Please note: This list uses best episode of a series.
(ie. Top 50 Most Watched Programmes is based on best performing episode of programme or series ie. Each programme is only included once and the rating only refers to this single episode.
2. Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen, Adults 15+, Total TV, Avg. Mins per person, consolidated, all day, 2022.
3. Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen Total Video Panel - Jan - Oct 2022
4. Source: AT Internet
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RT Delivers 44 of the Top 50 Most Watched TV Programmes in Ireland in 2022 as Irish Content Beats International Competition
