TV audience blooms to more than a million for second Rose night

ROLL over World Cup. Find some more viewers, Lost finale. And get back in line Tiger Woods scandal. Irish television has a new, if admittedly cheesy, king in town.

Figures revealed by RTÉ show the second night of the 2010 Rose of Tralee festival — the programme everyone claims not to watch — was the most viewed broadcast available on any channel so far this year.

Despite viewership figures for Dáithí Ó Sé’s Monday night debut dipping by 43,000 compared with the opening show last year, more than a million people tuned in to the second broadcast on Tuesday.

The 1,074,500 viewer figure, which is the highest in a decade, means more than one in every four people in the country tuned in to see 26-year-old Clare Kambamettu become the second London representative in as many years to take home the coveted prize.

Figures released by RTÉ show at the peak point of 11.15pm on Tuesday night, more than a million people were watching at home.

An average of 916,300 viewers tuned in after RTÉ’s Nine News break, a 172,300-person increase on 2009.

An RTÉ spokesperson said the increase in viewer levels compared to last year — which did not include 11,300 streams on the www.RTÉ.ie catch-up service — was testament to new host Dáithí Ó Sé’s professionalism.

However, after Monday night’s show saw the television audience drop by 43,000 compared with just one year earlier, the same spokesperson insisted it was not appropriate to compare figures with 2009 as it was broadcast on different days and involved the 50th anniversary celebrations.

At the Monday programme viewer high point of 9.30pm, 705,000 people tuned in to watch the show.

The viewership level, which represents a 46% share of the market, was down significantly on the 2009 event when 748,000 people (53% share) watched the first night festivities.

Under the RTÉ calculation for this night, 65,000 more people watched the 2010 event compared to 2008.

Meanwhile, in the traditional morning after the night before festival interview, new Rose of Tralee Clare Kambamettu said the judges’ decision to name her the winner was further proof of Ireland’s growing multi-culturalism.

“I think it is fantastic that Ireland has become more diverse in the last 10 years or so.

“I just can’t believe I’m getting this opportunity. My dad’s particularly delighted because he didn’t grow up with it so it means so much to him,” the half Irish-half Indian girl explained.