More than 820,000 people tuned in to watch at least a part of the sometimes heated presidential debate on TV3 last night with the average viewership figure over the course of the 90 minute debate being put at 367,000.
While more than one million viewers regularly tune in to the station to watch programmes such as the X-Factor, particularly as they reach climactic moments, the maximum reach of 820,500 for the debate which chaired by Vincent Browne makes it one of the most popular current affairs programmes broadcast on the station.
The leader's debate during the general election earlier this year in which Enda Kenny declined to take part was watched by just under one million people and remains the most popular current affairs programme the station has shown.
A spokeswoman for TV3 said that it was "a very big day and a very big deal for us" and expressed satisfaction with the reaction from the public to both the format and the tone of the debate.
Some of the presidential candidates were less pleased with how the debate was handled. Independent candidate Seán Gallagher said many people watching at home would have "turned off that TV programme last night because of what they saw" while Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness criticised the lack of any audience interaction.
He said "some media commentators want to be the star of the show and he described Mr Browne's production of a range of books which claimed he was in the IRA long after 1974, as "theatrics".
The TV3 spokeswoman said that at the peak times, 480,000 people were tuned in. While the station is very pleased, the viewership figures which are more than 300 per cent up on those for a normal Tonight with Vincent Browne show, it considerably less than the number who watch the Late Late Show leadership debate which was broadcast last Friday night.
A spokeswoman for the national broadcaster said that an average of 728,700 people had watched the debate with the number of people who watched the programme at some point throughout the evening at 1.4 million.
