Business of Sport: TV audience figures a shot in the arm for FAI and Stephen Kenny

Ireland players applaud the fans after the draw with Portugal at the Aviva Stadium. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

The FAI’s search for a €2.5m sponsor for the men’s national side has been boosted by new figures which show more people watched Ireland’s Aviva Stadium draw with Portugal than the rugby team’s win over the All Blacks.

New data reveals that Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland pulled in a peak television audience of 906,000 viewers for the November 11 fixture with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, with rugby a close second with 872k tuning in.

While Andy Farrell’s team enjoyed a greater average audience over football for the 29-20 win v New Zealand two days later, also at the Aviva Stadium, the peak numbers are significant from a popularity perspective, by way of overall audience.

In the ‘average watched’ stakes, rugby recorded 700,000 viewers on RTÉ while football came in at 679,000 — this audience equates to the number of people who watched the game for a significant period of time, rather than dipping in at a peak moment.

Both sets of numbers are impressive, but they are significantly lower than the average audience for this year’s peak sporting event — the All-Ireland SFC final which experienced 944,000 for Tyrone’s win over Mayo at Croke Park on September 11.

The Nielsen research numbers for RTÉ also show that public interest in the Republic of Ireland footballers actually increased after the team’s World Cup hopes were banished, than at any time throughout the qualifying campaign.

Ireland’s final two games — the team’s 0-0 draw with Portugal and the final match, 3-0 away to Luxembourg last Sunday week — were two of the three most-watched matches of the World Cup qualifiers, the other being the 1-2 defeat away to the Portuguese.

While undoubtedly there is a huge Cristiano Ronaldo factor in these numbers, the surge of interest and affection in the Irish football team stands alone.

It marks a high point at the end of what began as a difficult year for Stephen Kenny, which included a home defeat to Luxembourg and a home draw to Azerbaijan.

The numbers represent compelling data-driven evidence that the Irish public is very much onside with the manager, who awaits the FAI board’s decision about what kind of contract it will offer him in the coming weeks.

Nielsen’s research also offers a strong argument that the FAI must now be close to landing an elusive headline sponsor, which it values at €10m for a four-year deal.

Earlier this year, football plummeted to near junk status in the affections of major sponsors as it languished way down the pecking order behind GAA, rugby, Olympics, Paralympics and golf.

Sponsorship experts say that the television numbers clearly demonstrate that the perception of the Ireland team is now more enhanced than at any time in recent years, turning the brand into an attractive commercial proposition.

Jill Downey, managing director of Core Sponsorship, believes the numbers show that the FAI is now back as a serious player in the sports rights marketplace.

“These numbers now become very interesting for a commercial partner who might be considering an opportunity to get onboard with the FAI,” she explained. “Very quickly, you should see some strong movement, they’ve done enough to now be considered again by big brands.

“The football is getting better all the time, and they’re actually becoming a joy to watch, and that is significant for sponsors.”

The figures show that while the final game of the World Cup qualifying campaign against Luxembourg may have been a dead rubber, and a shoot-out for third place in the group, the numbers were significant. The match resulted in an average audience of more than half-a-million — 501,000 (or 649,000 at peak) — and was the highest watched fixture outside of the two games against Portugal.

The 906,000 peak audience viewers who watched Portugal’s scoreless draw at the Aviva is more than 700,000 less than saw Ireland’s 2015 victory over then-world champions Germany, which furthered Martin O’Neill’s advance to Euro 2016 qualification.

On the night of Shane Long’s now legendary goal against Manuel Neuer, the 1-0 victory in October of six years ago, was watched by 1.6m people — or an average audience of 786,000 viewers.