League final attracts record viewing figures to TG4

TG4’s GAA coverage continues to go ‘ó neart go neart’ as record viewing figures watched Sunday’s Football League final, writes Stephen Barry.

The heavyweight Division One pairing of Dublin and Kerry saw the Kingdom end the Dubs’ five-in-a-row quest as well as their 36-game unbeaten run.

642,000 people tuned in to the game, with the Irish-language station holding an average audience of 354,000 across the 70 minutes.

That translates to a 37% share of the TV-viewing audience, while a 21% share watched the curtain-raising Division Two final, which saw Galway defeat Kildare.

The audience of 642,000 was a 21,000 increase on the previous record figure, achieved during last year’s final, which was followed by the GAA’s 1916 commemoration, Laochra.

TG4 Sports Editor Rónán Ó Coisdealbha thanked all those involved in Nemeton TV, the production team that produced yesterday’s coverage.

“We are all delighted with these all-time record viewing figures,” he said.

“It was a thrilling encounter and made for compelling viewing with the outcome in the balance till the very last kick.

“TG4’s TV coverage of Gaelic games this week spanned a wide range, including pioneering world-wide and free-to-view web coverage of provincial finals in the EirGrid Under 21 Football Championship.”

Tonight’s Ulster U21 Football final will be streamed live on TG4.ie from 7:55pm. GAA Beo resumes next weekend with coverage of the All-Ireland U21 semi-finals on Saturday and the Hurling League semi-finals on Sunday.