The highest rating TV show in Ireland last year was again the Late Late Toy Show with Ryan Tubridy on RTE One. Sport was a big winner in 2018, accounting for more than half of the year’s top 50 programmes. Ireland’s Grand Slam 6 Nations clash against England broadcast on Virgin Media One was the most watched sporting show of the year.
Weather plays a big role in Irish life and this was reflected in TV viewing. ‘The Beast from the East’ hit the country for a week in March and people were glued to TV sets for an average of four hours and five minutes every day during the storm. Entertainment shows like Room to Improve, Mrs Brown’s Boys and I’m a Celebrity… all made the top 15.
Home-produced programmes and soaps continued to dominate the top of the ratings chart across all channels. TAM Ireland/Nielsen figures for 2018 shows the average Irish adult in a TV home watches ‘the box’ for three hours four minutes a day, with 86 per cent of daily viewing consumed live, with just 14 per cent watched in time-shifted mode.
Six out of 10 Irish homes have a personal video recorder (PVR) like Sky+, Virgin Media Horizon box, VCR and DVD. Advertisers will be encouraged to know that housekeepers are still among the heaviest viewers, spending three hours 46 minutes a day watching TV. Shows popular with 15-44s include Ireland’s Got Talent and The Young Offenders.
Top 50 Programmes 2018
| Programmes | Channel | Date | 000s | ||
| 1 | The Late Late Toy Show | RTÉ One | 30/11/2018 | 1550.4 | |
| 2 | Six Nations: England v Ireland | Virgin Media One | 17/03/2018 | 975.6 | |
| 3 | Guinness Series Live: Ireland v New Zealand | RTÉ2 | 17/11/2018 | 926.6 | |
| 4 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Croatia v England | RTÉ2 | 11/07/2018 | 924.4 | |
| 5 | Room To Improve | RTÉ One | 18/02/2018 | 859.8 | |
| 6 | Sunday Game Live (All Ireland Hurling Final): Galway v Limerick | RTÉ2 | 19/08/2018 | 854.4 | |
| 7 | Sunday Game Live (All Ireland Football Final): Dublin v Tyrone | RTÉ2 | 02/09/2018 | 841.1 | |
| 8 | RTE News: Six One | RTÉ One | 01/03/2018 | 807.6 | |
| 9 | Six Nations: Ireland v Scotland | Virgin Media One | 10/03/2018 | 729.4 | |
| 10 | RTE News: Nine O’Clock | RTÉ One | 01/03/2018 | 707.4 | |
| 11 | Eurovision Song Contest Final 2018 | RTÉ One | 12/05/2018 | 701.9 | |
| 12 | Mrs Brown’s Boys – Exotic Mammy | RTÉ One | 25/12/2018 | 688.7 | |
| 13 | I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here | Virgin Media One | 18/11/2018 | 679.3 | |
| 14 | Six Nations: Ireland v Wales | Virgin Media One | 24/02/2018 | 663.3 | |
| 15 | 2018 FIFA World Cup Final: France v Croatia | RTÉ2 | 15/07/2018 | 654.4 | |
| 16 | Mrs Brown’s Boys – Mammy’s Motel | RTÉ One | 31/12/2018 | 650.9 | |
| 17 | The Late Late Show | RTÉ One | 12/10/2018 | 641.6 | |
| 18 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Colombia v England | RTÉ2 | 03/07/2018 | 638.6 | |
| 19 | Whistleblower: The Maurice McCabe Story | RTÉ One | 13/11/2018 | 637.3 | |
| 20 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: France v Belgium | RTÉ2 | 10/07/2018 | 612.4 | |
| 21 | The Young Offenders Christmas Special | RTÉ One | 25/12/2018 | 601.4 | |
| 22 | Dancing With The Stars | RTÉ One | 04/03/2018 | 598.5 | |
| 23 | Six Nations: France v Ireland | Virgin Media One | 03/02/2018 | 586.5 | |
| 24 | Champions League Live: Real Madrid v Liverpool | RTÉ2 | 26/05/2018 | 585.1 | |
| 25 | Six Nations: Ireland v Italy | Virgin Media One | 10/02/2018 | 584.8 | |
| 26 | Guinness Series Live: Ireland v Argentina | RTÉ2 | 10/11/2018 | 564.8 | |
| 27 | Sunday Game Live (Semi-Final Hurling): Cork v Limerick | RTÉ2 | 29/07/2018 | 548.2 | |
| 28 | Striking Out | RTÉ One | 11/02/2018 | 548.0 | |
| 29 | Guinness Series Live: Ireland V USA | RTÉ2 | 24/11/2018 | 545.3 | |
| 30 | Taken Down | RTÉ One | 04/11/2018 | 538.2 | |
| 31 | Coronation Street | Virgin Media One | 08/01/2018 | 535.3 | |
| 32 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Russia V Croatia | RTÉ2 | 07/07/2018 | 529.4 | |
| 33 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Tunisia V England | RTÉ2 | 18/06/2018 | 527.5 | |
| 34 | Ireland’s Got Talent | Virgin Media One | 03/02/2018 | 521.8 | |
| 35 | Champions League Live: Roma v Liverpool | RTÉ2 | 02/05/2018 | 508.1 | |
| 36 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Sweden v England | RTÉ2 | 07/07/2018 | 499.0 | |
| 37 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: England v Belgium | RTÉ2 | 28/06/2018 | 496.7 | |
| 38 | Six Nations: France v England | Virgin Media One | 10/03/2018 | 493.0 | |
| 39 | Fair City | RTÉ One | 11/02/2018 | 490.6 | |
| 40 | The Young Offenders | RTÉ2 | 01/03/2018 | 486.6 | |
| 41 | Pope Francis In Ireland | RTÉ One | 26/08/2018 | 486.4 | |
| 42 | The Rose Of Tralee International Festival 2018 | RTÉ One | 21/08/2018 | 485.9 | |
| 43 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Croatia v Denmark | RTÉ2 | 01/07/2018 | 484.7 | |
| 44 | Live: Manchester City v Liverpool | Virgin Media One | 10/04/2018 | 482.3 | |
| 45 | We Won The Lotto | RTÉ One | 05/02/2018 | 477.9 | |
| 46 | 2018 FIFA World Cup: Brazil v Switzerland | RTÉ2 | 17/06/2018 | 477.0 | |
| 47 | One Day: How Ireland Eats | RTÉ One | 22/01/2018 | 474.4 | |
| 48 | Live: Liverpool v Roma | Virgin Media One | 24/04/2018 | 472.0 | |
| 49 | Operation Transformation | RTÉ One | 28/02/2018 | 470.0 | |
| 50 | Prime Time | RTÉ One | 01/03/2018 | 463.5 |
