RTÉ’s “The Late Late Toy Show,” with new host Patrick Kielty at the helm for the first time, was the most-watched television event in Ireland in 2023, with more than 1.5 million people tuning in. 

Kielty, who took over as “The Late Late Show” host in September following the departure of long-term host Ryan Tubridy in May, took charge of the special Christmas edition at the end of November to widespread acclaim. 

Meanwhile, Kielty’s first appearance as “The Late Late Show” host in September also featured among the top ten most-viewed TV events in Ireland in 2023. 

While “The Late Late Show” landed in the top ten twice for 2023, the remaining eight most-viewed television events in Ireland for the year were sports-related.

According to the data released by TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media this week, sports dominated TV coverage in 2023, making up over 60% of the top 50 most-watched programs in Ireland last year. 

There were four Rugby World Cup matches in the top ten most-watched programs of the year in addition to two episodes of “The Sunday Game” and two episodes of the Six Nations rugby tournament.

Meanwhile, coverage of Ireland’s debut FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign also featured prominently in the top 50. 

Ireland’s agonizing Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat against New Zealand was the second-most-watched sporting event in Ireland last year, with over 1.4 million people tuning into Virgin Media One on October 14. 

Irish-produced programming made up 49 of the top 50 most-watched television programmes in Ireland in 2023, while 42 of the top 50 most-watched programs of 2023 were broadcast on RTÉ.

The RTÉ Nine O’Clock News on November 23 was the 11th-most-watched TV event of 2023, with people tuning in on the day of the Dublin riots. A Primetime broadcast that followed the news that evening was the 29th-most-viewed event of the year, with over half a million people tuning in. 

The finale of the second season of the RTÉ-produced gangland drama “Kin” drew over 600,000 viewers in May, while an episode of the popular “Room to Improve” drew 593,000 viewers. 

RTÉ has reported a record-breaking year for the RTÉ Player, with the streaming service delivering more than 105 streams and 35 million streaming hours. The service was used by a record 1.3 million unique users, according to RTÉ. 

RTÉ said July 26 was the biggest day of streaming for the RTÉ Player, with more than 250,000 hours of content streamed on the day Ireland took on Canada in the Women’s World Cup. 

RTÉ Deputy Director of Content Niamh O’Connor said: “Serving Irish audiences with a distinctive mix of quality Irish content is why RTÉ exists and we are committed to working, together with our colleagues in the Irish independent production sector, to continue to serve the public with unique Irish content that educates, entertains, and informs.”