Jedward Are the Real Winners as 2.2m Switch On

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Byline: Claire Gorman

THEY may have lost the competition but Jedward have won the ratings war for RTE - attracting the highest Eurovision audience in 15 years. Around 1.2million viewers watched Saturday's three-and-ahalf hour show in its entirety. And at its peak, there was an Irish audience of 2.24million.

Julian Vignoles, head of the Irish delegation, said: 'These figures are phenomenal. Jedward undoubtedly brought a new energy to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Seven out of ten [71 per cent] of 15 to 24-year-olds watched the programme in total.' From 10.30pm to 10.45pm, viewing figures soared, with 1,456,360 tuning into see the results coming in live. John …