Figures that were released today have shown that live sport has dominated the viewing figures in Ireland in 2022.
While the Late Late Toy Show was the most viewed show of the year with 1.5 million views, nine of the top ten most watched programmes were sports.
It was quite the year for sport in Ireland. A thrilling GAA championship in both football and hurling was followed closely by viewers, while the Ireland rugby teams performances in the Six Nations also brought in huge numbers.
The most viewed sporting occasion on RTÉ was the All-Ireland final, as Kerry claimed their first Sam Maguire crown in eight years defeating Galway in a thrilling encounter in July. This was watched by 872,300 people.
Virgin Media's coverage of Ireland's defeat to France in the Six Nations was the third most watched event, with 818,000 people tuning in.
Limerick's dominance in Hurling continued this year, and people watched in big numbers as 786,000 viewed their win over Kilkenny in July.
The biggest sporting event of the year saw huge numbers tuning in to Irish coverage, with the semi-final between Argentina and Croatia the most watched game of the tournament with 784,200 viewers, just over the 783,000 viewers that watched the RTÉ coverage of the final.
England's exit at the World Cup to France was the eight most watched programme on Irish television with 759,000, just under the 778,000 that watched Ireland's victory over England in the Six Nations in March.
Ireland's wins over Wales and Scotland in the Six Nations rounded off the top 1-
The most watched shows in Ireland last year: Late Late Toy Show on top with over 1.5m viewers. The Men's All-Ireland Football Final, Hurling Final, and Six Nations rugby game v France got more viewers than the FIFA World Cup final. Oddly, the WC semifinal got more viewers too pic.twitter.com/cEWbNgmewX
— Cork Beo (@corkbeo) January 12, 2023
Across the rest of the list, World Cup games heavily featured, particularly Portugal's campaign in what was likely Cristiano Ronaldo's final tournament.
For people in Ireland, it wasn't just the World Cup, or indeed sport that caught their attention. The popular home renovation programme Room To Improve was the 13th most watched show on the 20th of February.
As Ireland exited Covid restrictions at the beginning of the year, people were eager to watch the Six One news, with 592.800 tuning in.
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