Armchair view: TV figures

The 2001 football and hurling championships have had a major impact on RT╔ viewing figures. Coverage of GAA games accounted for 18 of the top 25 positions in a league table of the top-rated sports programmes from January 1st to September 2nd, according to figures released by AC Nielsen.

Seven of the top-10 rated programmes were GAA broadcasts. The All-Ireland finals were not yet included in the ratings, which traditionally generate the largest TV audiences among GAA viewers.

The new football qualifier series attracted significant attendances throughout the summer, a phenomenon reflected in the TV ratings. The highest Irish TV audience for a GAA event so far this year was the All-Ireland quarter-final replay between Meath and Westmeath on August 11th.

The semi-final replay between Tipperary and Wexford recorded the highest viewing figures for a hurling game, attracting 380,000 viewers. The figures for replayed games have also been particularly high, as three of the top five ratings have been for replayed games.

The figures released by AC Nielsen were only collected in-house. It is therefore assumed that all data is underestimated in terms of real live viewing. The overall TV viewing figures for the championship is estimated at 6.026 million.

The top-rated sports programme was the Republic of Ireland against Holland on September 1st, which attracted a figure 456,000. Second placed was the Ireland-Cyprus game on March 24th with 419,000 viewers, followed by six GAA broadcasts. The Ireland-Andorra game on March 28th was ranked ninth with a figure of 370,000.

Top GAA viewing figures:

Meath v Westmeath, SF quarter-final replay - 414,000

Kerry v Meath, All-Ireland SF semi-final - 411,000

Kerry v Dublin, SF quarter-final replay - 385,000

Tipperary v Wexford, All-Ireland SH s/f replay - 380,000

Roscommon v Mayo, Connacht SF final - 374,000