Toy show, Eurovision and GAA top ratings

TOYS, THE Eurovision and Kerry versus the Dubs were what Irish TV viewers most wanted to watch last year, ratings figures have shown.

Topping the list of the most watched TV programme in 2011 was RTE's The Late Late Toy Show. With an average viewership of 1,528,000, the family favourite hosted by Ryan Tubridy was the most watched programme on Irish television in 17 years. In second place, according to the Tam Ireland/Nielsen Tam ratings, was the Eurovision Song Contestin May, with Irelands entry Jedward no doubt turning on some of the 1.1 million Irish viewers who tuned in.

Third place went to The Sunday Game Livewhich in September saw those who could not get tickets to Croke Park tune in to watch Dublin vanquish Kerry in the All-Ireland senior football final. The game attracted more than one million viewers.

Not far behind football was politics when more than 960,000 people tuned into the Frontline Leaders Debatein February in the run-up to the general election.

Mrs Brown's Boysattracted just 10,000 fewer viewers the with episodes of Brendan O'Carroll's sit-coms taking both the fifth and sixth spots on the top 10 most watched programmes list.

The Late Late Show, the All-Ireland senior hurling final, the Rose of Traleeand the Nine O'Clock Newsrounded out the top 10 most watched programmes in the State last year.

The most watched programme on TV3 were the ever popular Coronation Street, when nearly 750,000 viewers tuned into an episode on January 3rd last year.

This was marginally bigger than the audience for the independent station's second most popular programme, talent show The X Factor - The Result, on November 6th last. On that occasion almost 730,000 viewers tuned into the show.