The RTÉ Player is two years old (today). Last month (March 2011) saw the highest ever number of video requests – 2.7 million. This breaks down as an average of 86,000 per day. St. Patrick’s Day this year saw a record 117,000+ streams delivered.
Player users and their preferences are interesting. While 53% of Irish users are under the age of 34 the total number of users is spread evenly between men and women. The biggest peak in traffic is between 9pm and 11pm.
80% of streams fall under the entertainment, drama and news and sports categories. However, since January 2010 news has seen a strong performance as the economic crises, unseasonal weather and 2011 election increased demand.
Director of RTÉ Publishing, Muirne Laffan, says, “The RTÉ Player has rapidly become an integral part of many Irish people’s media experience. We’re continuing to look at how we can deliver our content on many more new platforms and devices.”
Since its launch in 2009 the number of unique browsers per month has grown and is now in excess of 520,000. An international version of the Player was rolled out in 2010. There are plans to release iPad, iPhone and Android versions of RTÉ Player by the end of the year.
Top Ten Programmes in March 2011
Programme Date of First TV Broadcast Streams
1) Desperate Housewives 1 March 38,100
2) Desperate Housewives 8 March 36,700
3) Republic of Telly 7 March 33,100
4) Desperate Housewives 15 March 30,400
5) Desperate Housewives 22 March 28,100
6) St. Patrick’s Day Festival 17 March 28,600
7) Republic of Telly 14 March 26,700
8) Grey’s Anatomy 8 March 26,400
9) RTÉ News Now 17 March 26,000
10) Grey’s Anatomy 1 March 25,800
(Source RTÉ / Blue Metrix, March 2011)
