The latest JNLR audience figures show that 3.862m adults tuned into Irish radio stations each week across the period of October 2023 to September 2024.
That equates to 89.7% of the Irish 15+ population tuning in on a weekly basis.
The research also shows that the average listener is listening for over 4 hours daily, highlighting the continued strength of radio in the Irish market.
79.5% of people aged over 15 years listen to radio each day (3,422,000)
89.7% of people over-15 listen to radio every week (3,862,000)
521,000 people listen to radio daily on smart speakers, computers, or via phone or TV, and this is growing among listeners aged 15-34.
On average listeners tune into more than one station per day and tune into just over 4.1 hours of live radio every day.
Irish radio has 13.9 million connections or followers across Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
A total of c 16,600 people were interviewed during the survey period by Ipsos B&A, on behalf of JNLR – Joint National Listenership Research – that is commissioned by all national, regional and local stations, AAI, IAPI and Coimisiún na Meán.
Around the stations
RTÉ Radio 1 remains the only radio service with a weekly reach of over +1 million, increasing by +2,000 YoY
RTÉ 2FM has a weekly reach figure of 762,000 of adults 15+, increasing by + 35,000 YoY but down on last quarter’s 791,000. It has lost listeners in both Breakfast (149,000 to 142,000 listeners) and Drive (157,000 to 145,000 listeners).
RTÉ lyric fm has 314,000 listeners on a weekly basis, increasing by +1,000 YoY
Radio Nova is celebrating its increase to 254,000 weekly listeners, making it the number one music radio station across the Dublin Commuter Belt region with audience increases for almost all programmes on the station.
Newstalk’s national market share at 8.5% is up .9% YoY. Weekly reach for the station performed strongly at 861,000, up 39,000 YoY.
The Pat Kenny Show remains the most listened to show on commercial radio with 241,000 listeners tuning in daily.
Newstalk also retains its status as the second most listened to radio station in the country every day with 508,000 listeners, up 42,000 YoY.
Today FM‘s weekly reach of 973,000 is down from 988,000 last quarter, but represents a lift of 14,000 in the last year.
Ian Dempsey now commands the largest audience on Today FM with a listenership of 209,000. Meantime, Ray Foley wins the afternoons with an audience boost to 169,000, an increase of 14,000 since the last results.
Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio has scored its highest daily and weekly listenership in its 15 year history today. The multi-city station now boasts 382,000 weekly listener and has broken through the 200,000 mark on daily listenership. The station has also shown a 13% increase in market share to 5.4%.
In additional to daily, weekly and market share growth, the station has also experienced strong growth in its daytime schedule, with its breakfast show, ‘Colm & Lucy in the Morning’ adding 10,000 listeners to 78,000, Classic Hits with Trina Mara increasing by 10,000 to 90,000 and Damien Farrelly in the Afternoon by 8,000 to 88,000 daily listeners.
98FM delivered increases on all key audience metrics including a 0.7% increase on Market Share to 5.5%.
5,000 more people now start their day with 98FM’s Big Breakfast with Rebecca and Brendan, reaching 42,000 listeners. Brian Dowling and Suzanne Kane also increased its audience by 5,000 to 38,000.
SPIN 1038 recorded a daily reach of 143,000 in Dublin and continues to lead in 15-34 year olds. SPIN1038’s flagship breakfast show Fully Charged with Emma, Dave and Aisling, is up 11,000 in the last year to an audience of 59,000.
SPIN South West has 150,000 listeners each week. Fully Charged with Ed and Valerie stands at 30,000 listeners while SPIN Hits with Michaela Hayes has increased audience to 38,000.
Red FM continues to dominate the Cork market, with a share of 20.7% and a weekly reach of 174,000.
The biggest commercial radio show in Cork is The Neil Prendeville Show with 78,000 listeners (up 3,000).
Red FM Breakfast with KC reaches 50,000 listeners while Ciara Revins lunchtime show reaches 64,000 listeners.
The newest addition to the Bauer Media Audio Ireland portfolio holds a 14.6% market share in the South East, up .6% since the last results. Beat Breakfast now stands at 50,000 listeners (up 3,000) while Beat Drive now attracts an audience of 44,000.
iRadio now holds an 8.1% market share, up 1% over the last year with a weekly reach of 344,000. Dave and Fionnuala have recorded an audience of 83,000, up 9,000 in the last year.
Wireless Ireland’s urban media network of stations now reaches 978,000 adults every week according to the research released today.
In Dublin, Wireless Ireland’s Q102 grew weekly reach by 22,000 year on year to 188,000, while FM104 also increased year on year to 260,000 listeners.
In addition, the combined Cork stations 96fm and C103 offering delivers weekly reach of 218,000, Limerick Live 95 delivers 92,000, while LMFM has 111,000 weekly listeners.
Partner stations Galway Bay FM and WLR also both showed growth with Galway Bay FM adding an additional 18,000 listeners year on year to reach 129,000 weekly and WLR reaching 65,000 listeners.
Quotes
Michael Kelly, Chief Executive of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, commented: “Independent radio stations are delighted with the results of the latest research. This is welcome proof of the strength of radio as a medium, which is highly-trusted and valued by Irish listeners. Radio is free to access, and has a unique connection to listeners. It is responsive, interactive, and flexible for advertisers and listeners. Radio delivers news and current affairs, music and entertainment, sports coverage, information and much more. Most importantly, it provides companionship to millions of listeners in Ireland.”
Nova’s Kevin Branigan, said, “The latest JNLR ratings are out and it’s been an astonishing book for Radio Nova. Not only have we now exceed a quarter of a million listeners, we are now the the Number One music radio staiton in the entire Dublin Commuter Belt. Also, pretty much all of our programmes have increased in audience, showing that more and more people enjoy our seriously addictive music and presenters. We’re so proud that so many people enjoy listening to what we do and we never forget the loyalty of everyone that listens”.
As Chief Executive of Classic Hits, Kevin added: “It’s great day for us here! Our total listenership has increased, yet again, with 382,000 people now listening to us across the country, our highest ever figure. We’ve also increased our share of radio listening and pretty every one of our day time shows from Colm & Lucy in the Morning right through to Nighttime Talks with Niall Boylan has increased considerably. We’re delighted to be the home of the 80s and 90s for more and more people than ever before! Thank you to all of our listeners in Dublin, Cork, Limerick Galway, Clare and further afield – for listening to Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland CEO Chris Doyle said: “We are thrilled for Bauer to reach this historic milestone, becoming the largest radio group by audience in Ireland. The achievement is a result of the dedication, creativity, and hard work of our entire team.
“Thanks also to our partners and clients for your continued trust and support, we look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional value and innovative solutions that drive success.”
Mark Simpson, deputy managing editor of Newstalk said: ‘We’re happy to see that Newstalk remains the most listened to daily talk station of choice for 20-44 year olds in Ireland, a real indication that our strategy of delivering a broad range of engaging, informative and compelling conversations that reflect what our audience are talking about, is working. The Pat Kenny Show remains the No.1 commercial show on Irish radio and we are delighted that Pat leads our team into the busy election period ahead as one of the country’s most respected and trusted broadcasters.
On the latest figures Ray Foley said: “This is frankly absolutely ridiculous, that we have managed to get away with this for 538 shows. That anyone is listening at all is mind boggling, but 169,000 pairs of ears? That’s just daft! I’m so happy and proud. Thanks for listening”
Fyona Smith, Managing Editor of Today FM said: “Todays FM’s results provide moments of celebration and highlight areas for even greater impact. We’re energised by the opportunities ahead to continue connecting with our audience and driving results as well as in class entertainment across all shows, even higher. With Ray Foley welcoming huge audiences to afternoon’s, we’re excited to connect with even more listeners and elevate our entertainment across all programs.’”
Sean Barry, Managing Director of Wireless Ireland said: “Audio is in a very exciting place in Ireland right now and our strong audience numbers across our markets highlight the important role our brands are playing in Ireland’s key urban centres.
“Today’s figures, alongside a very successful RAJAR performance from our Belfast based station U105 last month, gives us a very strong base from which to launch exciting new initiatives in 2025.
“We’re also very happy to see then continuing audience growth on Q102 where the addition of Ryan Tubridy to the schedule has added listeners across the board.”
Patricia Monahan, Director of Audio, RTÉ said: “We are very proud that more than 2 million people choose to engage with our stations every week underlining again the important role public service media plays in Irish life. RTÉ broadcasts 17 of the top 20 radio programmes in Ireland across a wide variety of genres including News and Current Affairs, Music and Entertainment, and Sport.
RTÉ Radio 1 remains the only station with a weekly reach of over 1 million listeners, with gains of 2,000 listeners year-on-year. RTÉ 2FM has a weekly reach of 762,000, an increase of 35,000 year-on-year, and RTÉ lyric fm now reaches 314,000 listeners every week. As we head into a General Election campaign, our focus will continue to be on delivering trusted information and engaging content and to reflect the experiences of audiences across Ireland.” […]
