TV3 HAS REPORTED what it describes as “unbelievable” TV viewing figures for the month of December to date, saying it set a new record for the channel with the audience for last week’s X Factor finals.

An average of 930,000 people watched the live finale on Sunday as Matt Cardle was crowned the winner of the show’s seventh series, with a peak audience of 1.12 million for the final minutes of the show.

Last night’s final of the third Irish series of The Apprentice also drew huge crowds, though the 542,000 average audience that tuned into last night’s show – where Michelle Massey overcame Niamh McDonald – was a little short of the highest figure for the series.

The network’s overall average share of the TV audience in December had shown a “phenomenal surge”, a TV3 spokeswoman said, saying that the last ten days’ worth of programming had been particularly attractive.

Alongside the finals of The X Factor and The Apprentice, viewing figures had also been boosted by the final stages of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here and the bumper coverage of Coronation Street last week.

The latter, in particular, had drawn substantial viewing figures as the show celebrated its 50th birthday with a major tram crash on the Weatherfield set, culminating in an hour-long episode broadcast live last Thursday.