IFTA show loses a quarter of million viewers on TV3

(L to R) Amy Huberman, Miriam O'Callaghan and Caroline Morahan at the IFTAs 2015

Elaine McCahill

A quarter of a million less people tuned in to watch the 2015 IFTAs compared to last year's disastrous broadcast, new figures reveal.

The Irish Television and Film Academy Awards were shown on TV3 this year for the first time.

Actress Charlie Murphy at the IFTAs

Deirdre O'Kane at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House. It was revealed on Wednesday that the actress and comedian will host the 2016 ceremony.

Andrew Scott at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Sarah Greene at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Tom Vaughan Lawlor, wife Claire Cox at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Aoibhin Garrihy & boyfriend John Burke at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Aoibhin Garrihy at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Steve Carson, Miriam O'Callaghan at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Miriam O'Callaghan at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Deirdre O'Kane at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Caroline Morahan at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Alyssa Sutherland at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Amanda Byram at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Lisa Cannon at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Sinead Desmond at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Colette Fitzpatrick at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Peter Coonan, Kim O'Driscoll at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Caitriona Balfe at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Amanda Byram at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Amanda Byram & boyfriend Julian Okines at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Christina Noble at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

The glitzy awards show was formerly screened on RTE but changed to the rival broadcaster after last year's ceremony was branded a "shambles".

This year's awards were broadcast on Monday night and pulled in an average of just 121,100 viewers compared to 382,000 on the national broadcaster last year - a difference of 260,900.

Sean Bean at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

The ceremony, which was held on May 24, was well-received in comparison to last year after the academy decided to hold two separate events for film and television.

While A-list stars like Jamie Dornan and Colin Farrell failed to turn up on the red carpet, winners included Irish stars like Charlie Murphy and Sarah Greene.

Meanwhile, the awards also had less viewers than Pat Kenny's interview with Shane Filan.

Pat Kenny in the Round had lost viewers since it started last month.

Louise Duffy at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Aisling Franciosi at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

Guests like Commander Chris Hadfield and singer Lulu failed to attract audiences but the Westlife star's interview has marked a distinct increase in ratings.

Monday night's interview, in which the singer spoke about everything from meeting his wife Gillian to his bankruptcy, pulled in 143,000 viewers.

Gay Byrne & Kathleen Watkins at the IFTA Awards 2015 at The Mansion House

In comparison, Commander Chris Hadfield drew 66,000 viewers, while Lulu attracted 95,000.

Elsewhere, RTE executives were delighted with how their chat shows performed over the weekend.

Brendan O'Connor's Saturday Night Show finished with a flourish with 471,200 watching his last episode and the last Late Late Show of the season which attracted 616,000.