More than 1.6 million excited viewers tuned in to watch last Friday’s Late Late Toy Show - making it the most-watched programme on Irish TV this year, RTE has confirmed.
The national broadcaster also revealed the Wizard of Oz-themed special had 303,000 streams on the RTE Player across the weekend from more than 139 countries such as Bolivia, Jamaica, Qatar, and Ukraine.
In addition, they also revealed generous viewers donated €3.8 million to help children’s charities across Ireland in this year’s Toy Show Appeal and said this brings the total amount raised to €17 million since the initiative began in 2020.
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Speaking about this year’s incredible show, host Ryan Tubridy said: “Friday night was a joy to be part of and that is exactly what I was, I was part of a big Toy Show family gathering.
“That is to say, people working behind the scenes and the children who participated. The reaction has been very gratifying and very heartening.
“I just got the sense that people wanted a night off from reality, they wanted a night to smile, laugh and cry together.”
The RTE broadcaster added: “People of all ages got something from this bizarre, beautiful show so I really want to say thank you to everyone for putting it together, for being part of it, and for watching it. Happy Christmas to one and all.”
It comes as Montrose chiefs said over the last week the hashtag “LateLateToyShow” received an incredible 39.2 million views on TikTok as the nation prepared and enjoyed the annual toy bonanza.
While their own social accounts generated a staggering 8.3 million video views across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and, Twitter with the hashtag trending on Friday night and over the weekend on TikTok and Twitter.
Heartwarming clips from budding pilot Áron Gibbons, football-crazy Cealan Green, and Emmie's stand-up comedy routine were among the most-watched clips on RTÉ Player.
RTE included catch-up viewing on Saturday and Sunday along with those who tuned into RTE One +1 to conclude there were 1.6 million watching.
They said 1.33 million on average tuned in on Friday night while an additional 296,000 watched the programme on catch-up TV, including RTÉ One +1 and the Sunday repeat.
The national broadcaster also revealed last week the RTE Player had the highest-ever number of weekly streams at 5.3 million.
They said this was down to the World Cup which is currently being played in Qatar and the Toy Show.
They said last week 2.5 million hours of content were viewed which beats the previous record of 2.34 million weekly streams which was recorded in 2020.
RTE added that the 28 games that have been played so far in the World Cup have generated 3.1m live streams on their player which is an average of 112,000 live streams per game.
They said that 53 per cent of World Cup live streams have been on smartphones and said Spain’s clash with Germany on Sunday was the most-watched World Cup match of last week, with an average of 521,000 viewers and a share of 38 per cent of those watching TV at the time.
While the most-watched game of the tournament on the RTE Player so far was Argentina v Saudi Arabia on November 22 which had 255,000 live streams.
Head of RTE Player Aoife Byrne said: “It has been an extraordinary week for RTE Player with over double the streaming volumes of our previous weekly record.
“In 2023, we’ll be looking to build on these successes to make RTE Player a must-visit streaming destination in its own right for Irish audiences.
“We will be expanding our distribution, continuously improving the user experience, adding new features and functionality, and growing our catalogue of quality Irish and international boxsets.”
While RTE Director of Content Jim Jennings added: “RTE exists to serve audiences content that informs, engages, and entertains.
“It is great to see audiences engage in such large numbers with a diverse range of content, from the Toy Show’s uniquely Irish heart-warming moments to the thrilling sporting action of the World Cup.
“Our shared stories are what makes us unique and RTE is proud to share those stories and moments with the Irish public.”
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