KEY SHOWS ACROSS RTE 2FM have lost listeners over the past three months, but the station nevertheless said it had “done extremely well to stabilise the 15 to 34 audience”.
The latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures show a decrease across most of the station’s output.
The JNLR details listenership for radio shows across Ireland, as well as market share.
The 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 third quarter of this year, from July to the end of September.
When compared to the second quarter of the year, 2FM Breakfast is down 7,000 listeners to 142,000.
It’s a similar outlook for Laura Fox, whose show lost 8,000 listeners to an audience of 133,000 for her 9am-12pm show.
Tracy Clifford is down 9,000 listeners to 119,000, 2FM Drive is down 12,000 to 145,000 when compared to Q2 of this year.
It’s good news for Weekend Mornings on 2FM, which has added 17,000 listeners to its Saturday show to hit 153,000 and is up 9,000 on its Sunday show to reach an audience of 137,000.
And it’s a mixed bag for Roz Purcell and Emma Power’s show, which is down 5,000 to 128,000 listeners for its Saturday edition, but up 11,000 for its Sunday show to 109,000.
Dan Healy, the head of RTÉ 2FM, said the team, both on and off air, “have done extremely well to stabilise the 15 to 34 audience Monday to Friday and to keep weekend programming strong”
During the summer, RTÉ sought expressions of interest to create a “long list” of presenters on 2FM following the departure of a number of high-profile presenters from the station.
Healy said the station “received hundreds of applications, many of whom have been piloting shows”.
“We have been working hard on the new schedule and over the next while we will be unveiling our line-up full of gifted radio presenters who we are confident will meet the needs of young audiences in Ireland,” said Healy.
Over on RTÉ Radio 1, it remains the only radio station with a weekly reach of over 1 million and has 891,000 listeners on a weekday, though the weekday figure is down 13,000 when compared to Q2.
Morning Ireland remains the nation’s most listened to radio programme, with 465,000 listeners but this is also a sizeable drop on Q2’s audience of 486,000.
Oliver Callan has added 2,000 listeners to his show to have an audience of 338,000 while Today With Claire Byrne is down slightly to 342,000, a drop of 2,000.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag for Brendan O’Connor, whose Saturday show has gained 2,000 listeners to hit 342,000, though his Sunday edition has lost 7,000 to leave an audience of 339,000.
News at One is up 7,000 to 302,000 listeners, Drivetime is down 3,000 to 221,000, and Liveline with Joe Duffy is up 5,000 to an audience of 307,000.
Peter Woods, the head of RTÉ Radio 1, said it is “particularly heartening for Oliver Callan, who is less than 12 months in that slot”.
Over on Today FM, the station has 973,000 listeners tuning in each week, down 15,000 from Q2.
Its daily reach is also down 6,000 to 483,000.
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is down by 1,000 listeners to an audience of 209,000, Dave Moore has taken a sizable hit, losing 15,000 listeners to 209,000.
Ray Foley however is up 14,000 to an audience of 169,000, while The Last Word with Matt Cooper is down 4,000 to 167,000.
And on Newstalk, Pat Kenny takes the title of most listened to show on commercial radio, with 241,000 daily listeners, though this is down slightly from the audience of 244,000 in Q2.
Newstalk has a weekly reach of 861,000, down 8,000.
Newstalk Breakfast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman has retained its audience of 168,000 while Andrea Gilligan’s Lunchtime Live is down 3,000 to 134,000.
The Hard Shoulder with Kieran Cuddihy is down 3,000 listeners to 152,000 but Off The Ball has gained 8,000 to reach an audience of 53,000.
Mark Simpson, deputy managing editor of Newstalk, noted a “significant rise in the listenership” for Off The Ball and added that he is “delighted” that Pat Kenny remains the most listened to commercial radio show.
Meanwhile, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland has welcomed the figures and noted that the independent radio sector has over 70% combined market share.
Michael Kelly, chief executive of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, said independent radio stations are “delighted with the results”.
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