The Apprentice holds its own against RTE

Analysis from Mediaworks noted that, while RTE won the TV ratings battle last Monday – with 510,000 viewers watching the 9 O’Clock News and Who Do You Think You Are? on RTE One – 243,000 adults watched The Apprentice on TV3, and just 125,000 adults tuned into RTE Two.

In the commercially important audience of 25 to 44-year-olds, TV3 performed most strongly, with 135,000 viewers.

This compared with RTE One, which was only slightly behind with 117,000 viewers, and RTE Two, which had 53,000 viewers.

The Apprentice's first episode last year was watched by 219,000 adults. The show is also available to view online.

The title sponsor of the series, Meteor, has also launched a website – http://www.apprenticeunseen.ie/ – to accompany the series, featuring footage from the show, plus blogs and news.