Claire Byrne’s new quiz show has haemorrhaged viewers since it aired – as we can reveal more than 150,000 have tuned out since the series began.
Ireland’s Smartest was tipped as Byrne’s return to TV amid speculation she is poised to take over Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show. The RTE One show started off strong last month with an average of 356,500 viewers tuning in to watch the first episode.
But the RTE star’s numbers have dipped each week, with the latest ratings for Sunday night revealing an average 198,000 tuning into the quiz show, which replaced Dancing With The Stars after it ended.
Read more: Ryan Tubridy issues warning over 'fake account' on social media
A spokesman for RTE said: “Sunday evening’s Ireland’s Smartest had an average audience of almost 200,000 (198,000) on RTÉ One (incl. RTÉ One+1) and 21% of the available audience.”
Meanwhile, Angela Scanlon’s Ask Me Anything drew in an average audience of 231,000 people at the weekend – an increase of 12,000 people from the previous week.
In one week during the season, the UK based presenter lost almost 60,000 viewers last month.
Her first episode on April 15 had an average audience of 250,000 Live + Vosdal (RTÉ One and RTÉ One+1) - 24% audience share, while her second episode on April 22 dropped by 62,000 viewers, with an average audience of 188,000 Live + Vosdal (RTÉ One and RTÉ One+1) - 20% audience share tuning into the show.
A spokesman for RTE said: “Angela Scanlon's Ask Me Anything on April 29th had an average audience of 231,000 (RTÉ One and RTÉ One+1) 23% audience share. It also has had 26,600 streams on the RTÉ Player for the season to date. “
Meanwhile Ryan Tubridy’s final few weeks on the Late Late Show have been revealed.
His Friday night chat show drew in an average 386,000, compared to an average of 374,000 who watched the show on Friday, April 21.
A spokesperson for RTÉ said: "Friday night’s Late Late Show was watched by an average of 386,000 on RTÉ One (incl. RTÉ One+1).
"It was watched by 38% of the available audience. On RTÉ Player, Friday's episode has generated almost 19,000 streams so far. The current series from September onwards has 1,094,000 streams so far.
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