RTÉ 2FM SAYS it is looking forward to “building on gains” and “discovering new radio talent” after an increase in listenership, according to the latest JNLR figures.
There has been an exodus in talent from 2FM over recent months, with The 2 Johnnies and Jennifer Zamparelli leaving the station.
The Breakfast Show also took a big hit, with Doireann Garrihy and Donncha O’Callaghan leaving in quick succession.
But despite the turnover on 2FM Breakfast, the show has gained 6,000 listeners to reach 149,000 since the last JNLR figures were released in March.
Across the station, its weekly reach increases by 27,000 to 791,000.
The Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) details listenership for radio shows across Ireland, as well as market share.
The JNLR survey is conducted among an annual sample of around 16,800 people aged 15 and over.
It uses the “one-day-aided” recall methodology, whereby the respondent recalls all their listening activity for the day prior.
The latest figures cover the second quarter of this year, from April to the end of June.
Meanwhile, Laura Fox has also increased listeners on her show which used to be fronted by Jennifer Zamparelli, a jump of 6,000 to 141,000.
Zamparelli left the station after more than a decade, saying it was “time for me to move on”.
2FM’s drive time show is also up 6,000 listeners to 157,000, despite the departure of The Two Johnnies, who left to focus on other projects.
Lottie Ryan and David O’Reilly took over the drive time show in June, and it was handed over to Beta Da Silva last month.
Tracy Clifford has also increased her audience to 128,000, up 7,000.
Dan Healy, head of RTÉ Radio Strategy and RTÉ 2FM, remarked that Laura Fox has had an “immediate positive impact”.
He added that the station is in the “middle of a process of discovering the next new radio talent for Ireland”.
Last month, the station sought expressions of interest to create a “long list” of presenters.
Healy said around “140 people are coming through 2FM over the next two weeks” and that this includes “people from all walks of life”.
“Off the back of this strong book we look forward to building on these gains and bringing a new breakfast and evening drive show for the audience over the next few months,” said Healy.
Over at RTÉ Radio 1, Morning Ireland continues to be the country’s most listened to radio programme, with 486,000 listeners.
Oliver Callan meanwhile is the third most listened to weekday programme and has gained 6,000 listeners since March to reach 336,000.
Today with Claire Byrne has also seen an increase of 3,000 to reach 344,000 listeners.
Elsewhere, Ray D’Arcy has gained 10,000 listeners to have an audience of 191,000, Liveline with Joe Duffy has increased slightly by 1,000 to reach 302,000, but it’s a mixed bag for Brendan O’Connor.
His Saturday show has 340,000 and while this is a year-on-year increase of 2,000, it’s a 12,000 drop since March.
It’s a similar outlook for his Sunday show, which though up by 23,000 year-on-year to an audience of 346,000, is down 9,000 on the audience of 355,000 seen in March.
The News at One meanwhile lost 5,000 listeners in March and has once more lost a similar number of listeners.
It’s down 6,000 since March to an audience of 295,000.
Director general Kevin Bakhurst noted that RTÉ Radio 1 is the only station with a weekly reach of over one million listeners and that RTÉ broadcasts 17 of the top 20 radio programmes.
Over on Today FM, it’s on track to also hit a weekly reach of one million, with 988,000 listeners per week.
Despite this, the Ian Dempsey Show is down 6,000 listeners since March to 210,000, Dave Moore is down 5,000 to an audience of 223,000, and Ray Foley has also seen his audience decrease by 6,000 to hit 155,000.
The Last Word with Matt Cooper is also down by 10,000 to an audience of 171,000.
Meanwhile on Newstalk, it recorded a weekly reach of 869,000.
The Pat Kenny Show is up 15,000 since March to reach 244,000, while Newstalk Breakfast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman have recorded an audience of 168,000, up 11,000.
Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan is up 19,000 to 137,000, while Moncrieff is up 3,000 to 108,000.
The Hard Shoulder with Kieran Cuddihy is up 7,000 to 155,000 and while Off The Ball’s mid-week show is down 3,000 to 45,000, it’s Saturday show has an audience of 143,000 while the Sunday show has 111,000 listeners.
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