They have only been live for 24 hours but UTV Ireland are already standing their own ground in the ratings battle.
One one of the busiest programming days of the year, the new station landed in the Top 10 most watched shows for New Year’s Day.
RTE News: Nine O’Clock landed the to spot with over 572, 400 people tuning in, RTE News: Six One came in second place with 489,000 watching and Eastenders got 422,300 on RTE One.
But UTV Ireland managed to land the 10th spot, with Emmerdale getting 185,800 viewers.
New channel: Continuity presenters Aideen Hand & Mark Keegan
Meanwhile competing channel TV3 saw 249,800 tune in for Mission Impossible and 216,200 watched Brendan Grave: A Night At The Opera House.
Speaking about the first nights ratings Managing Director of UTV Ireland Micheal Wilson said:
We are delighted with our first night ratings, which are well ahead of our expectations.
“We put in a very strong performance for a new channel up against tough competition from established Irish broadcasters.
Happy: Michael Wilson is delighted with the figures | UTV IRELAND
“UTV Ireland was the fourth most watched channel in Ireland, on its opening night.
“With an ‘Unmissable’ advertising campaign for UTV Ireland currently underway across outdoor, TV, radio, press and digital, we look forward to building on this impressive start in the coming months.”
