Sorry, Pat, viewers opt for Claire
Byrne wins ‘buddy’ battle
HE may not consider her as competition but Claire Byrne still won the ratings war – with more than double Pat Kenny’s audience for his UTV Ireland premiere.
The former RTÉ colleagues went head to head on Monday night and although Kenny attracted a healthy
‘It was Claire’s highest rating’
average of 150,000 for his opening show, which kicked off at 9pm, he was trounced by rival Byrne, who brought in an average 367,000 viewers.
Veteran broadcaster Kenny, 67, introduced his chat show, Pat Kenny In The Round, with an in-depth interview with Tyrone senior football manager Mickey Harte, father of murdered Michaela, while motherof-two Byrne held a same-sex marriage debate. RTÉ decided to move Byrne’s programme forward by an hour – seen by some as throwing down the gauntlet to Kenny – and a spokesman told the Mail that Monday’s episode brought in the biggest numbers so far for Byrne.
‘It was Claire’s highest-rated show of the year so far so we’re thrilled.’
Claire Byrne Live will return to its original 10.35pm slot for the coming weeks, the spokesman said.
‘Next Monday there will be a documentary looking back at 50 years of the Eurovision Song Contest and the following week will be Crimecall.’
Kenny said earlier this week that he did not consider Byrne a direct competitor, due to the diversity of the two formats.
‘If I was to come back with something like The Frontline and was up against Claire, who is a buddy of mine, it would’ve been odd but they’re two different kinds of programme,’ he said.
Kenny already has two other shows in the can ready to be rolled out. In addition to his interview with Harte, he sat down with singer Lulu and astronaut Chris Hadfield in the Round Room of Dublin’s Mansion House.
Asked why UTV Ireland decided to debut the show with Harte’s episode, as opposed to an international name like Hadfield, a spokesman told the Mail: ‘Chris was the first recorded guest but we never planned to run him first.
‘Mickey was always planned as our first guest because it was an exclusive interview.’
Meanwhile, head of channel Mary Curtis said UTV Ireland was ‘delighted’ with the reaction to Pat’s first show, adding: ‘Last night’s episode delivered a 33 per cent increase in viewing figures for the 9pm slot and an average of 150,000 viewers.’