JNLR figures published today show 3.1 million people – or 82% of the country – tune into the radio each day.
JNLR July 27th 2017 – THE FACTS
- 82% of people in Ireland listened to the radio yesterday
- On average, they spend over 4 hours with radio every day
- When it comes to any audio listening in Ireland, live radio rules with 87.6%. This compares to 8% of owned music and 3.2% to Spotify
- Radio also dominates when compared with other media – 51% of all adults in Ireland used Social Media yesterday and just 40% read a national newspaper
- 413,000 people in Ireland listened to radio via either a radio station App or the Irish Radioplayer in the last seven days
- Irish radio’s digital platforms have over 8.1 million social connections
The joint national listenership research conducted by Ipsos MRBI covers the 12 month period July 2016 to June 2017 and involves nearly 17,000 respondents annually; making it one of the most extensive research pieces in the country.
Chairperson of #Choose Radio, a group which represents all of the Irish radio industry’s sales houses, Gabrielle Cummins says: “This robust piece of research provides advertisers with substantial data to clearly analyse audience listening habits so they can help formulate an effective advertising plan”. She also points out that “all radio stations in Ireland have invested significantly in their digital output because it’s crucial that we continuously adapt and evolve to exceed our audience’s ever changing expectations.
“The reality is that radio connects with more people than any other medium in Ireland so if you have a message you want to get across to your target in an effective way then then the obvious option is to #ChooseRadio!”
RTÉ’s radio services continue to reach almost 2 million with 1,989,000 or 53% of Adults 15+ population tuning in every week (+100, 000 YoY and +23,000 BoB). RTÉ Radio 1 continues to be the only station with a weekly reach of over +1million at 1,404,000 (+19,000 BoB and +57,000 YoY) RTÉ 2fm’s weekly reach figure is 791,000 or 21% of Adults 15+ (+17,000 BoB and +32,000 YoY)
Commenting on the latest radio figures for RTÉ, Jim Jennings, Managing Director, RTÉ Radio says: “This is another very positive result for RTÉ radio with nearly 2 million listeners, 53% of all adults, tuning into our stations each week. Radio 1 continues to perform very well with 19 of the top 20 programmes coming from that station. 2fm has had a great book with the recent increase in numbers continuing and forming a trend. It is great to see Breakfast Republic in the top 20 most listened to shows in the country. The portfolio of radio services on offer from RTÉ continues to attract listeners across the country.”
In Dublin, Sunshine 106.8 has recorded its highest ever Weekly listenership – up 19.8% in the past year, rising to 127,000 per week whilst the Market Share has grown from 4.3% to 5.0%. Joe Harrington, General Manager, Sunshine 106.8 says “It’s another great result for Sunshine 106.8. We’re Dublin’s Easy Place to Relax and now more and more Dubliners are relaxing with us right across the week and especially at the weekend.”
At Wireless, FM104 and Q102 are both up in share and reach. FM104’s share is now 10.9% making it the music radio market leader in Dublin, and Q102 up to 6.6% from a 5.9%. In weekly reach, FM104 now has 320,000 with Q102 up to 175,000. Dave Kelly, Group PD in Dublin told RadioToday: “I’m delighted with these figures and with all our shows. Dubliners just love our Strawberry Alarm Clock and all the way through to the FM104 Phoneshow. Q102 had a great book with strong performances from all shows.”
Classic Hits 4FM has a 16.6% increase in weekly reach – adding an extra 41,000 listeners when compared to the same period last year. Market Share in Galway more than doubled in the past year – rising from 3.3% to 7.0%
Andy Matthews, Programme Director, Classic Hits 4FM told us “We’re delighted that more and more people are enjoying Ireland’s Classic Hits station. Growth of over 16% in the last year is amazing! With more people tuning into PJ Gallagher & Jim McCabe on breakfast and Niall Boylan at lunchtime the station has continued to grow – thanks for listening!”
At Radio NOVA, newly installed PD Colm Hayes is hitting out at his former station 2FM. He tells RadioToday: “Radio Nova now beats 2FM in Market Share in the Dublin area. Nova has extended its share to a stunning 4.1, easily beating 2FM’s paltry 3.6. I joined Nova for a particular reason, to be successful while creating professional, sophisticated music radio. I’ve done it before and its time to do it again. It’s a great station with huge potential. We’re the small player in the big market but we’ve already shown the big boys we mean business. To quote one of my heroes, Rocky Bilboa; Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up! Sorry for the bloody nose 2FM but you better get used to it.”
“This is a big milestone for us”, adds CEO Kevin Branigan. “We’ve been closing the gap on both national stations for some time but to have passed them out in this book is fantastic.”
At Newstalk, the station’s Market Share has increased from 5.8% to 6.0% and the station’s Weekly reach has risen by 8,000 to 729,000. Patricia Monahan said: “We are very pleased with Newstalk’s performance in today’s JNLR figures. This puts us in a strong position as we approach the first anniversary of the new schedule. Although it will not be possible to draw a full comparison until the JNLR figures are released in October, with all radio listenership remaining steady at 82%, we are confident that the schedule is resonating with our audience and we look forward to continuing this positive trend.”
Beat 102-103 has seen increases across the board in the latest JNLR figures. Daily Reach has increased from 94,000 to 99,000 since last year and Weekly Reach has increased by 11% year-on- year with Beat now reaching 161,000
people in the South East every week.
Beat’s Head of Station Sound Niall Power says “while other stations have been rebranding and changing formats, Beat has been 100% consistent in our product – a perfectly targeted music policy, relatable presenters and a strong digital and street presence.”
In Waterford, the JNLR results show that WLR now has a weekly reach of 64% of all adults in Waterford and remains Waterford’s most listened to radio station. There have been gains across most WLR programmes. Ollie and Mary’s ‘Big Breakfast Blaa’ scored its highest ever figure in this book. The show has seen an increase in audience by almost 2,000 listeners every 15 minutes.
WLR’s Programme Director Michael Byrne says: “WLR is a different place to what it was 5 years ago, and we’re changing and improving all the time. The last 6-months has seen some new faces join the team and they have made a brilliant contribution to what is a very experienced team. We are delighted with today’s results.”
In Cork, Liam Thompson at Cork’s 96FM told RadioToday: “We’re very happy with the book, some really good growth for 96FM throughout the day. PJ on The Opinion Line is Cork’s No. 1 Talk show and Ken Tobin and Wayne Hilton both had strong books.
“We won’t see the impact of the new KC Show until the next book at the earliest, but the listener reaction has been brilliant and they’re getting great traction on social media.”
For more figures and reports see:
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