Connacht-Munster rugby game is TG4’s festive ratings winner

The New Year's Day rugby fixture between Connacht and Munster was the most-watched programme on TG4 over the festive period.

Rugbaí Beo was watched by an average of 118,000 people, coming in just ahead of the public-service broadcaster's celebration of entertainer Joe Dolan, Seo é Joe Dolan, which was viewed by 109,000 people on New Year's Eve.

TG4 said its ratings increased 25 per cent during Christmas 2021 compared with the same period in 2020, with figures from research firm Nielsen compiled on behalf of industry body TAM Ireland showing that it had an average daily share of 2.8 per cent, up from 2.2 per cent the year before.

Boosted by its rugby coverage, which saw Connacht beat Munster 10-8 in the United Rugby Championship game, January 1st was the best day for the Irish-language broadcaster, with its audience share swelling to 4.3 per cent.

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Meanwhile, separate figures released on Monday by RTÉ show that Dancing with the Stars, the Irish version of the BBC format, returned to RTÉ One on Sunday evening after a two-year absence with an average viewership of 525,000 across its running time.

This represented a 40 per cent share of the audience watching television at the time and made the show, presented by Jennifer Zamparelli and Nicky Byrne and made for RTÉ by Larry Bass's Shinawil, the most-watched programme in Irish households last weekend.