The RTÉ Late Late Toy Show 2019 captures the heart of the nation

Important messages from children of Ireland made Friday night’s Late Late Toy Show unmissable for Irish viewers at home and abroad.

The must-see broadcast of the Irish television calendar captured the hearts of viewers at home and abroad at the weekend, addressing a broad range of issues including bullying and homelessness, and telling compelling stories which resonated hugely with audiences watching on across a range of RTÉ platforms.

From start to finish, The Late Late Toy Show team had gathered an ensemble cast of stand-out children, delivering messages demonstrating the essence of Christmas. From Dubliner Sophia Maher’s defiant message to bullies, to Tom Cullen from Leitrim’s heart-warming love for his Nanny Pat, and Lee Cooling’s surprise visit from his sister Alex who lives in Australia, there was barely a dry eye in studio, or at home with viewers.

Host Ryan Tubridy today said he has been overwhelmed by both the children who took part, and the overall the response to the show, which was the most watched programme on Irish television this year.

“We have been totally taken aback by the response to The Late Late Toy Show on Friday. We were just bowled over by the children, all of whom came out with these beautiful stories and lessons in life and above all else, a sense of kindness and warmth and innocence and childhood, which is the essence of The Late Late Toy Show experience. The numbers are great, and the love and support is reflected in the texts and emails we have been getting from around the country and around the world from people who really seem to have connected with the show.” Ryan Tubridy

The Late Late Toy Show 2019 was a ratings success, increasing on last year’s numbers, with more than 1.7 million people tuning in to watch it over the course of the weekend on a variety of RTÉ platforms.

The Frozen themed spectacular, was watched by an average audience of 1.35 million live* on the night, a 76 per cent share** of the audience watching television at the time. The live show had a reach*** of 1,871,500 viewers who tuned in for a minute or more of the broadcast. RTÉ One +1 had an average audience of 26K. A further 134,000 viewers watched the show on Saturday afternoon on RTÉ One.

RTÉ Player

On the RTÉ Player, there were a total of 233,000 streams to The Late Late Toy Show from Friday 29/11 to Sunday 01/12. These streams came from 100 different countries, including Estonia, Kuwait and Honduras. This was an increase of 8% compared to the same time period in 2018. The first broadcast of The Late Late Toy Show with Irish Sign Language received an overwhelmingly positive response from both ISL users and hearing audiences alike, with over 28,000 streams. It was also broadcast on RTÉ News Now.

Social Media

This year’s show was widely lauded on social media with #LateLateToyShow trending number one worldwide on Twitter on Friday night and trending in Ireland across the weekend. On both The Late Late Show and RTÉ One Facebook pages, clips from the night have a total reach figure of 2.7 million. The #LateLateToyShow clips on Twitter have received 1,883,400 views, with Sophia’s clip alone hitting almost 850,000 views. On Instagram, pictures and videos from the #LateLateToyShow have a reach figure of over 480,000.

RTÉ Director of Content, Jim Jennings said: “Months of preparation go into this complex and demanding show, and so to see The Late Late Toy Show touch so many people, all across Ireland, is especially welcome. Congratulations to the team, but of course extra special congratulations to the hundreds of young people who gave the best of themselves last Friday night.”

Dee Forbes, RTÉ Director-General, said:“Friday night’s Late Late Toy Show was about many things: a big show with brave voices, electric performances, and of course some fantastic toys. But at its core were the stories and experiences of some remarkable kids; the nation listened, and we witnessed a huge outpouring of support and encouragement across social media. I’m delighted that over 1.3 million people tuned in live for this incredible showcase of talent, diversity, and inspiration. It showed, yet again, that coming together as a community is such a big part of who we are.”

Notes:

Ratings Source: TAM Ireland Ltd / Nielsen TAM 

*Average audience (Live+VOSDAL – Live + Viewed on Same Day As Live) –The average number of viewers across a programme or series, expressed in 000s. TV viewing is measured minute-by-minute.

*Share – The percentage of the total audience watching television at the time. The share was 76%.

***Reach, Live + VOSDAL – Reach is the number of people who tuned in for at least a minute of the show. Reach was 1,871,500.