An unprecedented 543,000 people watched ‘Nationwide’ on Monday which evening included items on Barack Obama’s Irish ancestry. This made up a record rating for the show with 36% of the available television audience watching.
The prgramme also included a mystery story concerning an arm discovered following a plane crash in Alaska, a visit to the National Archives and a report on the story of a will which led to the discovery of a 180 year old Census taken in Armagh. ‘Nationwide’, presented by Michael Ryan and Mary Kennedy, reports on events and stories from all over the country three times a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - at 7.00pm on RTÉ One.
In December last year it achieved a record high for a programme on Irish soldiers in the British Army by RTÉ's Northern Editor, Tommie Gorman (494,000 viewers and 34.7% share) and achieved an average audience rating of 324,000 viewers for 2008.
