Last night saw the debut of TV3's new soap Red Rock, and the Irish viewing public helped kick things off in style.
An average of 323,000 viewers tuned in to see the introduction of the Kiely-Hennessy family feud, and the figures bode well for the future of the new show. Indeed, the audience even compares favourably to that of Emmerdale, a well-established favourite which drew 325,000 on the same night.
Many were suitably impressed with the opening night performance, particularly set against the backdrop of global events.
“The figures are really impressive when you take the impact of what happened in Paris yesterday into account,” one advertising industry insider told Hot Press. “A news event as tragic and as dramatic as the Charlie Hedbo killings dominates the public discourse to a huge extent. It’s important not to be disrespectful to the people who have been affected by the massacre or to in any way minimise the political threat which it has created, in terms of fuelling the agenda of the far right in Europe – but, in fairness, the opening night of Red Rock has to be assessed in the light of all that, so the figures represent an impressive achievement. I have a feeling that it is going to do very well for TV3."