Late Late Toy Show most-watched TV programme this year

Last Friday night’s The Late Late Toy Show was the most-watched programme on television in Ireland so far this year, according to RTÉ.

An average of 1.36 million viewers tuned in to watch the entire show, with a reach of almost two million and an audience share of 73%.

Based on overnight figures, this year’s Late Late Toy Show was more popular than last year’s, which was watched by an average of 1.357 million viewers and achieved a share of 71%.

The show was also popular on the RTÉ Player, achieving 116,600 streams to date, despite recurring technical problems during the live stream.

Live streams on the night totalled 51,500 (domestic and international), a 27% increase on last year.

The top three countries for streaming internationally were the UK, the US and Australia.

Glen Killane, Managing Director, RTÉ Television said: "The Late Late Toy Show is a special programme that has become an annual event in nearly every Irish home, bringing families and the nation together.

"Almost 90% of all children watching television in Ireland on the night were tuned in to The Late Late Toy Show as were nearly three quarters of the total available audience.

"That level of engagement is unique among broadcasters in Europe and proves that RTÉ, and RTÉ One in particular, delivers programming that brings the nation together."

There were more than 91,000 tweets sent on the night using the official #LateLateToyShow hashtag alone and the volume of tweets being sent peaked at 620 per minute.

An average of 172,000 people watched the entire show when it was repeated on RTÉ One on Sunday.

Late Late Toy Show host Ryan Tubridy said: "After the success of last year, I really didn’t think it could be bettered.

"As we got closer to the day, I felt the weight of great expectation but a combination of stellar children, Trojan teamwork behind-the-scenes and some magic in the air helped make it a great night for everyone.

"I want to thank everyone for making this one of the biggest Late Late Toy Shows ever”.

Adrian Lynch, channel controller, RTÉ One said: "Months of planning go into creating this magical night of television.

"I’m delighted to see that the hard work and dedication has paid off to deliver a show enjoyed by such huge audiences on television, online and around the world."

This year’s Late Late Toy Show, which was based around the theme of Beauty and the Beast, featured a record number of children taking part with a total of 285 appearing including performers and toy testers.

All toys featured on the show on the night will be donated to charity.

Children nominated by a number of charities - Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin; Heart Children Ireland; LauraLynn Ireland Children’s Hospice; The Jack & Jill Foundation and Barretstown – experienced the set in advance of the show.