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The 'Twelfth' certainly proved to be a winner this year as
far as television viewers were concerned.
Figures just released show that a record number of viewers
tuned in to the BBC programme on the morning of July 12 giving
'live' courage to the Belfast parade.
At one stage 118,000 people were watching, well above last
year's previous record of 77,000.
This year's figure is almost four times the typical average
morning audience in Northern Ireland.
In fact, more than one out of every two homes in Northern
Ireland watching daytime television tuned in to the mid-morning
programme from Ormeau Avenue, programmed by Walter Love and
Clifford Smyth.
It certainly vindicated once more the decision to show the
'live' programme of the event. When it was taken off the airwaves
in the early 1990s there were protests from a huge number
of visitors and the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland applied
pressure on the BBC to have the programme restored.
That battle was successful, and it is great to see that the
public have responded in such a great way.
It is also revealed that a total of 181,000 watched UTV's
coverage, with 186,000 tuning into the BBC highlights programme.
At one stage the UTV audience peaked at 210,000 homes watching.
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