RTÉ has opened up additional advertising inventory around this year’s Late Late Toy Show, charging €55,000 for individual 30-second TV spots as the commercial potential of Ireland’s biggest annual television event moves further beyond the €1m mark.
The new inventory is in addition to the nine premium television and RTÉ Player packages already put on the market by the broadcaster, which have a combined value of €820,000 if all are sold at full price.
RTÉ is also selling audience giveaway packages for €20,000 each, as well as separate RTÉ Player and digital packages around the Dec. 4 broadcast.
The latest rate card puts the cost of an individual 30-second television spot during the Toy Show at €55,000. Advertisers can also pay a 30% premium for preferred positioning in a commercial break, subject to availability, while selection of a particular break carries a 20% premium.
This means a €55,000 spot could rise to €71,500 where the 30% preferred-position premium applies.
The additional inventory significantly increases the potential commercial return from the programme.
RTÉ had already put nine premium broadcast and digital packages on the market. The top package, offering first-in-break positioning during the first commercial break, together with the same position in the repeat and 250,000 RTÉ Player impressions, is priced at €112,000.
A second Break One package costs €95,000, while two Break Two packages are also priced at €95,000 each. Four packages covering Breaks Three and Four cost €85,000 each, with another in-break package priced at €82,500.
Together, the nine packages are worth €820,000.
On top of this, RTÉ is selling audience giveaway packages at €20,000 each. Advertisers participating in these must also provide 240 prizes with a minimum value of €150 each, representing at least €36,000 worth of prizes in addition to the media fee and VAT.
If RTÉ sells 10 audience giveaways, these would generate a further €200,000 in media revenue, bringing the premium packages and giveaways alone to €1.02m.
The newly available standalone television spots would come on top of that figure. Every four individual spots sold at the basic €55,000 rate would generate another €220,000. The ultimate figure could therefore be substantially higher than €1m, although RTÉ has not disclosed how many standalone spots will be made available.
There is additional revenue potential from RTÉ Player. A Republic of Ireland package delivering 200,000 impressions costs €12,000, while an international streaming package delivering 83,333 impressions is priced at €5,000. Player campaigns will run for seven days after the live programme, through Dec. 11.
RTÉ is also offering a €3,000 package consisting of a full-page advertisement in the RTÉ Guide’s Toy Show issue and 150,000 MPU impressions on RTÉ.ie.
The pricing illustrates the considerable premium attached to advertising around the Toy Show. A single standard 30-second television spot at €55,000 is priced at almost half the cost of the €112,000 top-tier package, although the latter includes premium first-in-break positioning, repeat transmission and RTÉ Player inventory.
The commercial proposition is underpinned by the programme’s strong viewership figures. Last year’s Grinch Who Stole Christmas-themed programme, hosted by Patrick Kielty, attracted 1.7m viewers and was the most-watched television programme in Ireland in 2025.
In addition, RTÉ Player recorded 592,275 streams in the Republic, up 11% year on year. Toy Show content also generated 36 million video views and 2.8 million interactions across RTÉ’s social media channels.
