Over 200 hours of live coverage of all 64 games across RT 2, RT Player and RT News Channel delivered record audiences
8.5 million total streams on RT Player
Over 1 million people watched the World Cup Final penalty shoot out
780,000 watched the most exciting World Cup Final in history on RT 2 and also 478,000 total live streams on RT Player
After a thrilling 64 games airing live across all RT platforms, it came down to one of the most exciting world cup finals in living memory as Argentina and France battled it right out to the bitter end in a penalty shootout which resulted in the world's greatest player winning the ultimate prize and lifting the World Cup trophy. RT provided live coverage of all 64 games across RT 2, RT Player and RT News Channel to Irish audiences over the past month. Yesterday's World Cup Final saw record numbers of 780,000 (59% share) on RT 2 and also 478,000 live streams on RT Player. The final peaked at 17.54 when 1.030M viewers sat on the edge of their seat as Messi went up against Mbappe in a nail-biting penalty shootout.
Over the four-week period, record numbers tuned into over 200 hours of World Cup coverage across television, player and radio live from Qatar showcasing the best what football had to offer. The road to the final saw huge audiences as Argentina's semi-final victory over Croatia was the most-watched match on RT 2 which had an average audience of 784,000. England v France was in third overall place with a 760,000 average audience. The second semi-final between France v Morocco was the fourth biggest match on RT 2 scoring 632,000 viewing average.
Football fans tuned into RT Player in their droves as 8.5 million total streams was recorded across the tournament. This is an increase of 240% on live streams on Euro 2020 tournament and a 47% increase on the World Cup tournament in 2018. Yesterday's World Cup Final had 478k live streams with viewers tuning in from all around the country to make it a record-breaking tournament for RT Player. Since the World Cup began on 20th November, RT Player has had 15 million streams in total. Viewers have also been engaged with a wide variety of content, including Quinn Country, The Late Late Toy Show, Frasier, Normal People and The Irish Civil War.
Group Head of RT Sport, Declan McBennett, said: The Messi Mbappe World Cup brought about audience engagement at unprecedented levels and is a tribute to the professionalism of those involved from presenters, pundits and production teams. The comprehensive coverage of primarily a wonderful sporting tournament while addressing the backdrop of social and political issues was embraced by the audience and will live long in the memory.
Head of RT Player, Aoife Byrne, said: We are thrilled with the performance of the FIFA World Cup on RT Player. With a total of 8.5 million streams and 1.8 million unique devices, it has been a record-breaking tournament. The epic final between Argentina and France had 478,000 live streams and was the most-streamed match of the tournament. Our focus over the past two years has been on investing in and improving the reliability and resilience of RT Player and particularly our ability to scale to meet the rapidly increasing audiences we're seeing, both live and on-demand. The user experience achieved during the World Cup where RT Player delivered its highest concurrent audience ever demonstrates the effectiveness of these works.
RT coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was proudly sponsored by Hyundai and KFC.
All above TV figures are based on Inds 4+, Live + VOSDAL
More from RTE
16/03/2026
After a nail-biting Grand Finale, Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been announced as the winner of Dancing with the Stars 2026.
The four finalists each dance...
16/03/2026
Welcome to Moore Street will begin on RT One and RT Player on Thursday 19 Marc...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
09/03/2026
A powerful new national initiative supporting people living with dementia launch...
06/03/2026
We are deeply saddened to hear the very sad news of the death of our friend and colleague, John McHugh. John was an exceptionally talented creative leader who s...
06/03/2026
First exclusive look at RT 's promo as Ireland prepare to take on Czechia
Every Moment, Every Generation
https://youtu.be/2ijo96EadLU
36 years after Geor...
05/03/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
RT Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2...
03/03/2026
RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
27/02/2026
One of Ireland's favourite lifestyle shows Home of the Year, returns for its 12th series and will be proudly sponsored by SIRO. The brand-new series will ai...
27/02/2026
Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3
From walled garden to community farm, new six-part series captures the unfiltered realities...
27/02/2026
Note: English version included below the Irish language version.
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT
A Ghaeilge mo cheol th '
T feachtas athnuaite i n...
26/02/2026
There were two big wins for RT KIDS shows at the 17th Kidscreen Awards in San Diego this week with Maddie Triggs and BeddyByes both taking home gongs.
The K...
26/02/2026
RT has confirmed that it has today received payment from the GAA for its 50% share of GAAGO.
RT confirmed in February 2025 that it had agreed in principle wi...
26/02/2026
RT Statement regarding the broadcast of Republic of Ireland vs Israel Nations League fixture
If the match goes ahead and that is a decision for the FAI as ...
24/02/2026
Katharine Wolinska appointed to lead Partnerships
RT Commercial has announced ...
23/02/2026
Audience peak of over a million on RT 2 as Ireland beat England in the Six Natio...
20/02/2026
Other Voices returns to RT this Spring with performances from Dermot Kennedy, A...
17/02/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Classic Irish Album
And the winning album is
T...
17/02/2026
RT has today announced that as part of its public-service remit, it will expand...
16/02/2026
RT News & Current Affairs has today announced the new appointments of journalis...
13/02/2026
New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists
Swindlers airs Wednesday 18 February, 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
Swindlers, a...
11/02/2026
The intergalactic children's show starring Adam King will premiere on 14 February on RT 2, RT KIDSjr and RT Player
The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King...
09/02/2026
RT Investigates rapid rise in waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital
am...
06/02/2026
The Winter Olympics 2026 in Milano Cortina officially get underway this evening (Friday 6 February) with the Opening Ceremony live on RT Player and RT News ch...
04/02/2026
Following the passing of our friend and colleague Hugh Wallace, and with the full support of his family, RT will proceed with the broadcast of the new series o...
29/01/2026
RT has today announced that Annette Malone has been appointed to the role of Chief People Officer, RT following a public competition.
As Chief People Officer...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
RT is today publishing a statistical summary of the Register of External Activities for the third quarter of 2025.
The RT Register of External Activities com...
24/01/2026
RT and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive free-to-air coverage of t...
23/01/2026
Find out where Sare and Suze are now on RT One and RT Player Thursday 29 January at 10.15pm
Hit drama SisterS, created by, written by and starring real-life ...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
Thursday 29 January 9:35pm on RT 2 and RT Player
The dating show returns with something old, something new and a dater you may already know
Thursday evenings...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
15/01/2026
RT is tonight announcing that Mari Hurley has decided to leave her role as RT 's Chief Financial Officer to take up a new position outside RT . Mari will r...
14/01/2026
The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 Years of Broadcasting, was unveiled at the GPO by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister for Cult...
14/01/2026
It's official! Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown. The beloved actor, known for her unforgettable roles and iconic screen presence, is joining the c...
13/01/2026
Live broadcasts from RT 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz & Aisling, RT Radio 1 Tod...
12/01/2026
For the first time in the nine-year history of Dancing with the Stars, the first...
09/01/2026
RT Player has 157 million streams, up 10% year-on-year
An increase on 2024, RT...
09/01/2026
RT 2FM has today announced the highly anticipated list of 2FM Rising Artists for 2026, kicking off 2FM Rising week for the eighth year on The Tracy Clifford Sh...
09/01/2026
RT to Host the 2026 RTS Ireland Awards
Thursday, 16 April 2026 | Dublin Royal Convention Centre
The RTS Ireland Television Awards 2026 | Gradaim RTS 2026 | R...
08/01/2026
Tonight, on RT Prime Time at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Tonight, Prime T...
08/01/2026
The Late Late Show celebrates the very best of traditional Irish music with its first-ever full special dedicated entirely to the tradition
Lisa Canny | Kevin...
Over 200 hours of live coverage of all 64 games across RT 2, RT Player and RT News Channel delivered record audiences
