The Republic of Ireland’s opening match in Euro 2012 attracted record audiences on RTÉ last night, making it the most watched sports event in Ireland since 1994.
A phenomenal 2.03 million* people tuned in at some point over the course of the game to see the Boys in Green take on Croatia in Poznan.
An average of 1.235 million** people watched RTÉ Two for the entire 2 and a half hours of coverage of the game, including pre and post-match analysis and Après Match, making it the most-watched programme of the year so far.
Over two-thirds of people watching television in Ireland at the time were tuned into RTÉ Two’s coverage, equating to an average audience share of 68%.
It’s the first time since RTÉ’s coverage of the World Cup in 1994 that any sports event on any channel available in Ireland has achieved such a large audience.
The tournament has also proven to be a big draw with fans online, with RTÉ’s Euro 2012 coverage on RTÉ.ie generating over 180,000*** streams to date within the Republic of Ireland.
Despite the disappointing 3-1 defeat, RTÉ’s coverage and analysis of the Republic of Ireland v Croatia match is currently the most popular programme on the RTÉ Player, in addition to the Après Match sketches.
RTÉ Sport’s comprehensive broadcasting of Euro 2012 continues with coverage of all 31 matches, including the Republic of Ireland’s next group game against Spain on Thursday which is live on RTÉ Two HD, RTÉ 2fm and RTÉ.ie.
All TV audience data quoted live + VOSDAL - source: TAM Ireland Ltd/Nielsen TAM
*2,039,300 is the +1 minute reach figure: the cumulative number of viewers who tuned in for at least one minute during the programme
**1,234,800 is the average number of viewers who watched the entire programme from 7.38pm to 10.15pm
***180,000 streams for all live and on-demand Euro 2012 content on RTÉ.ie
