Switchover puts 3e on the ratings map

TELEPRINTER:One month after the digital switchover and there is already at least one clear winner: 3e.

The channel’s audience share has increased substantially since analogue switch-off (ASO) on October 24th, reaching 4.44 per cent in the week ending November 18th, according to figures published by TAM Ireland.

This means 3e has overtaken TG4, which had a share of 1.92 per cent in the same week, and also suggests that TV3 group’s second channel, aimed at under 35s, is at least capable of closing in on its bête noire, RTÉ Two, which had a share of 6.15 per cent in the same week.

Audience

3e’s audience had already increased 30 per cent in the year-to-date prior to ASO, according to TV3 Group commercial director Pat Kiely. “But ASO has given us a new platform,” he says.

The jump in 3e’s share in the third week of November, up from 2.59 per cent in the previous week, can be attributed to TV3’s decision to broadcast the current series of jungle reality behemoth I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! on 3e rather than TV3 itself.

The first edition on November 11th secured an average audience above 300,000 - a first for 3e - and Kiely now hopes Sunday’s final will set a new record. Who knew the combination of Coronation Street actor Helen Flanagan and darts champion Eric Bristow, among others, would be so winning?