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 31 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.