Katie Taylor’s final fight delivered one of the biggest television audiences of the year in Ireland, with 1.6 million viewers tuning in at the peak of RTÉ2’s coverage from Croke Park on Saturday night.

The peak came during the tenth and final round at 22:39 as Taylor completed her career with victory over France’s Flora Pili to become a three-time undisputed world champion.

The programme attracted an average television audience of 973,000, representing 74 per cent share of all viewers at the time.

There were also 552,000 streams of the event on RTÉ Player, extending the audience reach well beyond traditional television measurement.

Those figures underline the significance of RTÉ securing the fight for free-to-air coverage and also represent a substantial return in visibility for Lidl Ireland, which partnered with RTÉ around the broadcast as part of its wider sponsorship of Taylor’s Croke Park farewell.

RTÉ’s coverage, in a media partnership with Lidl, aired on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ 2FM, giving the retailer exposure across television, streaming, radio and digital during one of the defining Irish sporting moments of the year.

The partnership, brokered by EssenceMediacom, extended significantly beyond the live fight.

It incorporated sponsorship of the press conference and weigh-in, RTÉ Radio 1 and 2FM outside broadcasts from Lidl stores in Bray and Ballybough, digital takeovers on RTÉ.ie and extensive promotion throughout fight week.

For Lidl, the numbers demonstrate the value of building a sponsorship beyond traditional branding.

The retailer was present throughout the build-up, at Croke Park on the night, and across the free-to-air coverage, bringing Taylor’s farewell into homes across the country.

The enduring image of Taylor placing her gloves in the centre of the ring following the fight also carried the Lidl branding associated with the event, creating additional visibility around a moment likely to be replayed for many years.

“On a historic Saturday night, Irish audiences came together in huge numbers to celebrate the extraordinary career of an Irish sporting icon,” said RTÉ Director of Video Steve Carson.

“Katie Taylor’s final victory was a national moment that will be remembered for many years to come. RTÉ Sport felt it was important to be able to bring live coverage from Croke Park to viewers and listeners, free-to-air, right across the country.”

An attendance of around 83,000 inside Croke Park witnessed Taylor successfully defend her WBO, WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titles while adding the WBC Super Lightweight Championship.

The event also included performances from Westlife, Róisín O and Aoife Scott, alongside a major fireworks display around the stadium.

RTÉ’s television coverage was presented from ringside by Jacqui Hurley, with Bernard Dunne and Natasha Jonas, while Hugh Cahill and Eric Donovan provided commentary. Doireann Garrihy and Marie Crowe led the coverage on 2FM.

Taylor later described the occasion on Instagram as a “dream ending to an amazing journey”.

“The last night of my boxing career may well have been my best,” she said. “Thank you, Ireland, for filling Croke Park with your song and your support. I will never forget it.”

A 74 per cent television share is evidence of the capacity of exceptional live sport to bring a national audience together, while the additional 552,000 RTÉ Player streams demonstrate how that audience is increasingly being spread across platforms.

For Lidl Ireland, which has built one of the most sustained relationships with Taylor during the latter stages of her career, the partnership delivered association with the athlete at precisely the moment when public interest reached its highest point.

The audience numbers, the breadth of the RTÉ partnership and the longevity of the imagery from Croke Park will make Saturday night a significant case study in the potential value of sports sponsorship built around a genuinely national moment.

 

 

 

Lidl Ireland, Croke Park Stadium, Boxing Ireland and RTÉ are full members of Sport for Business. Lidl Ireland are Partners on our Coverage of Women in Sport.

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Image Credit: Lidl Ireland

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