Irish Film & Television Awards pulls in viewers for RTÉ
The 10th annual Irish Film & Television Awards ceremony, which aired on RTÉ One, has become the highest rating in its decade long history. The gong show aired over two hours on Saturday night.
“The IFTAs are a wonderful showcase for Irish film, and the huge success of the event on RTÉ Television demonstrates the Irish audiences’ enthusiasm for celebrating Irish creative talent in Film.” said James Hickey the Chief Executive of the Irish Film Board, commenting on the figures.
Over 1.2 million viewers tuned into the award ceremony and gained 40% of the total viewership on Saturday night, across all channels with the 1.2 million viewers averaging out to just under 600,000 viewers across the 2 hour show.
Held in the Convention Centre Dublin, Simon Delaney presented the show for the third time running. Previous Hosts of the IFTAs were also in attendance including the very first anchor James Nesbitt, who presented the 2003, 2004 and 2005 shows.
“I’m a previous host and a previous winner, and I’m delighted to be back and to see how’s it’s all transformed and changed and developed – it’s wonderful.” said Nesbitt at the event.
Second host Victoria Smurfit also turned out for the tenth celebration, Smurfit is the only female host to date. The 10th year Ceremony focused very much on celebrating the Irish industry and as a true mark of respect, the Academy paid tribute to colleagues who had passed over the 10 years with a poignant visual Memoriam which received a prolonged standing ovation from attending guests in the auditorium. It was accompanied by internationally renowned Violin Soloist Aoife Ní Bhriain and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, who performed a specially composed Lament by Golden Globe Nominee Brian Byrne.
Glen Killane, Managing Director, RTÉ Television adds “RTÉ as the national public service broadcaster is continually investing in developing and nourishing creative talent in Ireland. The fact that audiences tuned in to the IFTAs in such numbers is testament to their appetite to celebrate Irish talent and to engage with Irish content”.
The 10th awards ceremony is available to watch now on the RTÉ Player at www.rte.ie/player. (Ireland residents only)