The Late Late Toy Show and The Traitors Ireland were the only non-sporting fixtures to make the top 10 most watched television programmes of 2025.
Figures from TAM Ireland and Nielsen Media Ireland show the average household watched two hours and 20 minutes everyday last year, rising to three hours and 18 minutes when expanding to all video content on a TV set.
Crucially, 75% of this time was spent with broadcaster content, far outweighing time spent with subscription video on demand (SVOD) services (11%), YouTube (6%) and other streaming platforms.
The vast majority (84%) of daily viewing of Irish television was watched live as scheduled while 16% was viewed via catch-ups services as the share of homes equipped with broadband rose to 93%.
The Toy Show was the most viewed show of the year across all channels available in Ireland with nearly 1.6m viewers, and five rugby matches made the top 10.
The top five was rounded out by the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final (995,300), the men’s Six Nations match between Ireland and France (984,600), the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final (938,900) and the men’s Six Nations match between Ireland and England (863,700).
A further 828,100 tuned into Ireland versus Scotland in the Six Nations, putting it ahead of the Traitors Ireland final (818,000), Ireland’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Hungary (804,300) and Ireland’s rugby matches versus South Africa (749,900) and Wales (736,800).
Sport dominated the top 20, although episodes of Room to Improve (647,000), I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! (644,900), RTÉ Six One News (597,500) and Dancing with the Stars (572,200) all made it in.
The Prime Time presidential debate (548,300), the Rose of Tralee (512,600) and the documentary DJ Carey: the Dodger (502,500) all attracted significant audiences to make the top 30.
In all, commercial television viewing was down only 1% from 2024 despite the absence of the Olympics and the European Championships in soccer.
You can see the full top 50 list below.
Ireland’s centre Robbie Henshaw (C) takes possession of the ball under pressure from France’s wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey (L) during the Six Nations international rugby union match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, on March 8, 2025. (Pic: PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)
The top 50 TV programmes in Ireland in 2025
1 The Late Late Toy Show RTÉ One 1590.2
2 The Sunday Game Live – SHCF – Cork v Tipperary :Live RTÉ2 995.3
3 Guinness Six Nations – Ireland v France:Live RTÉ2 984.6
4 The Sunday Game Live – SFCF – Kerry v Donegal:Live RTÉ One 938.9
5 Guinness Six Nations – Ireland V England: Live Virgin Media One 863.7
6 Guinness Six Nations – Scotland v Ireland:Live RTÉ2 828.1
7 The Traitors Ireland RTÉ One 818.0
8 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier – Hungary v ROI:Live RTÉ2 804.3
9 Quilter Nations Series:Ireland v South Afric:Live RTÉ2 749.4
10 Guinness Six Nations Wales V Ireland: Live Virgin Media One 736.8
11 IRFU: Ireland v New Zealand Live Virgin Media One 714.5
12 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier – ROI v Portuga:Live RTÉ2 713.5
13 Quilter Nations Series: Ireland v Australia:Live RTÉ2 689.8
14 Room To Improve RTÉ One 647.7
15 I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Virgin Media One 644.9
16 Guinness Six Nations – Italy v Ireland:Live RTÉ2 633.0
17 The Sunday Game Live – SHCSF – Kilkenny v Tip:Live RTÉ2 627.7
18 RTÉ News: Six One RTÉ One 597.5
19 The Saturday Game Live – SHCSF – Cork v Dubli:Live RTÉ2 572.6
20 Dancing With The Stars RTÉ One 572.2
21 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier – ROI v Armenia:Live RTÉ2 564.3
22 RTÉ News: Nine O’Clock RTÉ One 564.1
23 Prime Time: Presidential Debate 2025 RTÉ One 548.3
24 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier – ROI v Hungary:Live RTÉ2 547.2
25 The Saturday Game Live – MSHCF – Limerick v C:Live RTÉ2 539.7
26 The Rose Of Tralee International Festival 2025 RTÉ One 512.6
27 DJ Carey: The Dodger RTÉ One 502.5
28 Guinness Six Nations England V France: Live Virgin Media One 501.9
29 Cheap Irish Homes RTÉ One 497.6
30 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier – Portugal v RO:Live RTÉ2 497.6
31 The Sunday Game Live – SFCSF – Meath v Donega:Live RTÉ2 492.5
32 The Late Late Show RTÉ One 490.1
33 High Road, Low Road RTÉ One 488.9
34 Michael Lynn – The Fugitive RTÉ One 487.7
35 The Sunday Game Live – SFCQF – Armagh v Kerry:Live RTÉ2 487.6
36 Ireland’s Fittest Family RTÉ One 477.2
37 Reeling In The Years RTÉ One 477.2
38 Mrs Brown’s Boys RTÉ One 476.5
39 The Sunday Game Live – LSHCF – Kilkenny v Gal:Live RTÉ2 475.9
40 Nationwide RTÉ One 472.0
41 The Walsh Sisters RTÉ One 468.7
42 The Sunday Game Live – MSHC – Limerick v Cork:Live RTÉ2 461.3
43 The Late Late New Year’s Eve Show RTÉ One 456.9
44 The Great House Revival RTÉ One 455.8
45 DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland RTÉ One 443.2
46 Gerry Hutch: AKA The Monk RTÉ One 436.1
47 RTE Investigates: Inside Ireland’s Nursing Homes RTÉ One 428.2
48 UEFA Nations League – ROI v Bulgaria:Live RTÉ2 427.1
49 The Saturday Game Live – SFCSF – Kerry v Tyro:Live RTÉ2 426.0
50 The Sunday Game Live – MSHC – Cork v Waterfor:Live RTÉ2 423.0
Photo: Patrick Kielty dressed as the Grinch pictured during the opening of The Late Late Toy Show 2025. (Pic: Andres Poveda Via Rollingnews.ie