Irish Produced Content Continues to Thrive on the Nation’s Most Powerful Medium
Official TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media Ireland figures for 2025 highlight the unrivalled power of television in Ireland, with viewing firmly at the heart of daily life. The average Irish adult in a TV household watched 2 hours and 20 minutes of television every day, reinforcing TV’s role as a cornerstone of leisure time and shared experiences. (1).
Live viewing stands out as a defining force in Irish television. 84% of daily viewing was watched live as scheduled, demonstrating audiences’ strong connection with real-time programming, while a further 16% was viewed via catch-up services. With 93% (2) of TV homes now equipped with fixed or mobile broadband, viewers have unprecedented choice and flexibility, amplifying how they engage with broadcaster content across platforms.
Irish-produced, broadcaster-led programming continued to shine in 2025. The Late Late Toy Show (3) was the highest-rated programme of the year across all channels available in Ireland, once again proving its unmatched ability to bring the nation together. Entertainment programming also performed exceptionally well, with shows such as The Traitors Ireland, Room to Improve, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Dancing with the Stars all featuring in the top 20 programmes of the year. News and current affairs had a standout year again in 2025, reflecting the public’s trust in broadcast journalism, with major moments such as the Prime Time Presidential Debate ranking highly.
Sport once again proved to be a major driver of audiences, accounting for half of the top 50 programmes of the year. The Sunday Game Live All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final between Cork and Tipperary on July 20th was the most-watched sporting broadcast of 2025 and there was very strong performance around Irish rugby, which appeared 5 times in the Top 10 programmes, highlighting television’s unique ability to deliver live sporting moments at scale.
From a commercial perspective, television delivered strong results. With 2024 having being a huge sporting year with the Olympics and the Euros it is refreshing to see commercial TV viewing for 2025 on a par with last year with impacts only 1% down on 2024.
Younger audiences also showed strong engagement with broadcast television. Viewers aged 15–34 were particularly drawn to major live events, with sport and entertainment dominating their viewing. The Late Late Toy Show ranked as the number one programme for this cohort, followed closely by The Traitors Ireland and Six Nations clash between Ireland and France.
Looking across the wider video landscape, data from the Total Video Panel (5) shows that viewers spent an average of 3 hours and 18 minutes per day watching video content on a TV set. Crucially, 75% of this time was spent with broadcaster content, far outweighing time spent with SVOD services (11%), YouTube (6%) and other streaming platforms. Interestingly, the amount of time Adults 15+ spent viewing Broadcaster Streaming Services on a TV in 2025 has doubled reinforcing that central role broadcasters continue to play in the TV viewing echo system.
These 2025 viewing figures results clearly demonstrate that Irish television remains a vibrant, trusted and powerful medium — delivering scale, cultural impact and commercial effectiveness in an increasingly competitive media environment.
Top 50 Programmes 2025
Source:
1Source: TAM Ireland / Nielsen Media Ireland , Adults 15+, Total TV, Avg. mins per person, consolidated, all day, 2025
2Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media Ireland: Establishment Survey Jul-Dec 2025
3Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media Ireland, Based on National, Individuals 4+, All Subscribing channels, ranked based on average 000s, 1st January – 31st December 2025, Mon-Sun 03:00- 26:59, Any Day Any Time Best Episode, Simple and Gross Programme events
Please note: This list uses best episode of a series.
4Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media Ireland, Individuals total commercial impacts, consolidated, all day 2025
5Source: TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media Ireland Total Video Panel (Consolidated 7 day linear & Streaming)– Jan – Dec 2025