The Late Late Toy Show 2023 Slays its Mission of Spreading Christmas Cheer

Monday, 27 Nov 2023 18:33
Image for Article:The Late Late Toy Show 2023 Slays its Mission of Spreading Christmas Cheer

–Number One Programme of the Year to Date  -Over 1.7 million people watched across the weekend -Over €3.6 million Raised for Toy Show Appeal  -Record-breaking 550,000 RTÉ Player Streams from 147 countries  -26.2 million video views across Social Media for #LateLateToyShow 

To Whom It Concerns…

RTÉ’s Elf-themed Late Late Toy Show slayed its mission of spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear, raising an incredible €3.6 million for the  RTÉ Toy Show Appeal, sleighing straight in as the most-watched programme of the year and breaking records on RTÉ Player with those watching in Ireland and around the world. Our toy demo kids also helped spread the cheer beyond RTÉ platforms, with #LateLateToyShow generating an enormous 26.2 million video views and 2.2 million interactions on social media.

Average TV viewing for Friday night’s show is now over 1.7 million, including catch-up viewing on Saturday and Sunday. As host Patrick Kielty channelled Buddy the Elf in his debut Toy Show, audiences from an unprecedented 147 countries worldwide streamed the annual extravaganza which this year featured over 170 performers from around the country including unforgettable toy demo kids such as County Clare’s Sheamie, sport loving Stevie from Kilkenny, and Tipperary’s Sophie who raced to the studio in time for Patrick to surprise her with a magical trip to Disneyland.  Host Patrick Kielty said: “I’m still coming back down to earth from an amazing night last Friday. I want to express huge thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Late Late Toy Show so special. To all of you who watched, to the brilliant kids who brought their magic and put a giant smile on all of our faces. And, to every last one of you who gave so generously to our Toy Show Appeal – you have made a massive difference to so many children’s lives – thank you! Being part of it is something I will never forget – a forever night!”  The Irish diaspora worldwide stayed connected with home through RTÉ Player from a record-breaking 147 countries including first-time streams from Cameroon, British Virgin Islands, Rwanda, Sierra Leon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Almost a quarter of live streams on Friday night were from outside Ireland making the show the most-watched programme on RTÉ Player for 2023 with figures continuing to grow. There was a 97% increase on UK RTÉ Player streams up from 33k in 2022 to 65k in 2023, with streams in more than doubling in Northern Ireland.

The Late Late Toy Show 2023 highlights on The Late Late Show YouTube channel garnered over half a million views and counting, with Toy Show icon Sheamie and the Irish Rugby Surprise featuring in the top trending YouTube videos across Ireland over the weekend.

The Christmas cheer was felt far and wide with the #LateLateToyShow generating an enormous 26.2 million video views and 2.2 million interactions on RTÉ’s social accounts with the hashtag trending on Friday night and over the weekend on TikTok and Twitter.   There was enormous love across social for the younger stars of the night with Stevie’s performance of Ireland’s Call generating 4.8 million views across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, while Sheamie’s words of wisdom to Patrick, and Sophia’s backstage performance of her rap won fans on all platforms.

Once again, audiences responded with huge generosity towards the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal, which saw over €3.6 million donated by viewers to help children’s charities across Ireland in the year ahead. This brings the total amount of funds raised by the Appeal to over €21 million since the inaugural RTÉ Toy Show Appeal in 2020.

On the over €3.6 million raised from the  RTÉ Toy Show Appeal since Friday night, Denise Charlton, Chief Executive, Community Foundation Ireland said: “The extraordinary generosity of Toy Show viewers will ensure the magic continues long after the Christmas decorations come down. Hundreds of thousands of children will have their lives transformed. There will be more essential supports including food, clothing, therapy as well as health and wellbeing services. In addition, play and creativity will become more accessible to all. The Foundation will work with leading child advocates and our partners in RTÉ to begin the process of distributing the Toy Show fund to every county. For now, our message to viewers is Thank You!”

The Late Late Toy Show with Irish Sign Language (ISL) was also available live on Friday night on RTÉ Player and RTÉ News, with over 13,000 streams to date and growing.  Patrick Kielty’s opening performance inspired by Elf was on RTÉ One and with ISL was the most-watched moment from the show with viewers bowled over by the show’s many young performers. Matilda star Alisha Weir, Sheamie and Bundee Aki and Peter O’Mahony’s surprise visit were the Top Moments of the night.  Patrick’s meeting with our ISL elf Amelia was the most watched Irish Sign Language moment of the night.   Alan Tyler, Head of Entertainment, Comedy and Music said: “We are delighted that Patrick’s first Late Late Toy show has connected so well with the audience. It is a testament to the hard work of the whole team who put together a truly unique and special show which brought the nation together, and, we hope, delivered a little Christmas magic to homes right across Ireland and across the world. All of us on the show owe a huge thank you to the audience whose generosity in donating to the Toy Show Appeal is both remarkable and humbling. It will make a real difference to children’s lives throughout the year.”