The cast of Derry Girls pictured on the set of the final episode, which was set during the 1998 Good Friday Agreement referendum.
Nearly half-a-million viewers here tuned in to the first episode of the final series of the Channel 4 show.
Since it was first broadcast in 2018, Lisa McGee’s show has been hugely popular, winning a string of awards including three BAFTAs and three Royal Television Society awards.
The first episode of series three of Derry Girls had an average audience of 495,000 viewers last year, making it the most-watched TV programme locally in 2022, the Ofcom Media Nations report revealed.
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! was the second-most popular show in Northern Ireland in 2022, reaching a peak average audience of 462,000 viewers.
It was followed by The Tourist, starring Holywood actor Jamie Dornan, which reached a peak average audience of 388,000.
Other programmes in the top 10 included coverage of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (346,000 peak average audience) and the King’s Christmas Day message (292,000 peak average audience).
The North of Ireland was also the only UK region where Charles’s festive message was in the top 10 list.
Bloodlands starring Jimmy Nesbitt and Trigger Point, from the makers of Line of Duty, also made the top 10.
The Ofcom report found that, on average, people in Northern Ireland spent two hours and 44 minutes watching broadcast TV in 2022, a decline of 17 minutes from the previous year.
Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee and actress Siobhan McSweeney who played Sister Michael
Those aged over 54 watched more TV than any other age group, at an average of five hours 14 minutes each day last year, down by 4.8% compared to 2021.
At an average of 31 minutes per day in 2022, those aged 16-24 watched the least. This was down by 22.4% since 2021.
This trend differs from the other UK nations, where children (aged 4-15) spent the least time watching broadcast TV.
Jonathan Rose, Ofcom’s Northern Ireland Director, said the report “underlines the very strong appetite” that viewers and listeners here have for local services and programmes that feature and reflect the region.
“The viewing figures for Derry Girls and other programmes like Bloodlands as well as the popularity of local commercial and BBC radio services sets Northern Ireland apart from other parts of the UK,” he added.
“And despite the increased popularity of international streaming services in recent years, that shows no sign of changing.”
Ofcom’s report also found that the five main public service broadcasting (PSB) channels accounted for a combined 52.5% share of the total broadcast TV audience in Northern Ireland last year. This is the same share seen in Wales and compares with 54.7% in Scotland and 53.6% in England. The UK average was 53.5%.
BBC One had the highest audience share of any PSB channel (20.5%), followed by UTV (19.2%). Both BBC Two and Channel 4 had an audience share of 4.5% in 2022, while Channel 5’s share was 3.8%.
Looking at news sources, UTV was the most popular for general news for adults here, with around half of viewers (47%) tuning in, followed by BBC One at 44%. Facebook was the fourth-most popular source of news for people in Northern Ireland, with 29% using it.
Radio also featured prominently when it came to news, with both BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle being used by 18% of adults, while Cool FM attracted 14%.
Derry Girls creator and Derry girl Lisa McGee
Local radio is particularly strong in Northern Ireland, accounting for more than half (54%) of total radio listening, compared to 30% across the UK as a whole.
Some 63.3% of adults here listen to local commercial radio at least once a week – higher than in Scotland, Wales and the UK average.
Looking at podcasts, they are becoming increasingly popular here.
In the last quarter almost one in five (18%) of adults listening to podcasts at least once a week.
This is around double what it was five years ago.
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