Bauer Media Audio Ireland has moved ahead of RTÉ to become the country’s largest radio group across the main audience measures.
The latest figures show 78% of adults continue to listen on an average weekday, while weekly reach remains at 89%, meaning radio continues to reach almost 3.5 million adults in Ireland every weekday.
Younger listening has softened slightly in percentage terms. Daily reach among 15 to 34-year-olds stands at 65%, compared with 65.4% last time, while 59% of 15 to 24-year-olds listen each weekday, down from 60%.
That still represents almost 900,000 daily listeners aged 15 to 34 and 417,000 aged 15 to 24.
More than 2.6 million main shoppers listen each weekday, equivalent to 80% of that audience, while radio reaches 76% of ABC1 adults and 81% of women working full-time.
Among adults aged 35 and over, weekday reach stands at 84%, representing 2.6 million people.
Local and regional stations collectively reach almost 2.3 million adults each weekday and continue to account for a substantial part of Ireland’s radio listening.
The way audiences listen is continuing to change. Connected devices now account for 12% of all radio listening, rising to 18% among 15 to 34-year-olds. The younger figure is up from 17% in the previous report.
Smart speakers account for 8% of listening overall and 9.5% among 15 to 34s, with the latter up from 9%.
Radiocentre Ireland CEO Ciarán Cunningham said radio remained embedded in people’s routines despite the growing number of media choices, with audiences increasingly combining traditional receivers with phones, smart speakers and other connected devices.
Observations
Bauer has overtaken RTÉ with a 29.46% primetime market share and leads among audiences aged under 55.
RTÉ’s overall market share has fallen from 28.8% to 28.2%.
Today FM has reached a 10% share for the first time in more than a decade.
Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio achieved its highest daily audience to date, reaching 216,000.
RTÉ Radio 1 remains Ireland’s biggest individual station, with 1.354 million weekly listeners.
Morning Ireland has added 5,000 listeners to reach 457,000.
Today FM has added 20,000 weekly listeners, taking its reach to 974,000.
Ian Dempsey has achieved another record, rising by 8,000 to 240,000 listeners.
Ray Foley posted one of the largest national programme increases, adding 13,000 to reach 179,000.
Newstalk’s daily reach increased by 18,000 to 484,000, although its share remains at 7.8%.
Red FM’s Cork share jumped 2.3 points to 21.2%, reversing the decline recorded in the previous survey.
Live 95 increased its market share by 2.1 points to 25.2%.
Rising Time with Lillian recorded the biggest disclosed book-on-book programme gain, adding 18,000 listeners on Sundays.
Onic
Onic reaches 19.3% of Ireland’s 25 to 44-year-olds each week and holds an all-adult national market share of just under 10%.
Q102 recorded its third consecutive increase in Dublin, with its market share rising from 4.7% to 4.9%.
The Kathryn Thomas Breakfast Show added 3,000 listeners.
FM104 reaches 128,000 listeners each day. The Strawberry Alarm Clock with Jim-Jim, Crossy and Zeinab added 4,000 listeners book-on-book.
Live 95 produced one of Onic’s biggest gains, increasing its all-adult market share by 2.1 points to 25.2% in Limerick. Its primetime share stood at 23.1% in the previous survey.
LMFM retains a 26.5% all-adult market share across Louth and Meath, while Cork’s 96FM and C103 hold a combined 28.5% share in Cork.
Onic Group Content Director Mark Cunning said Q102’s third successive increase was a particularly encouraging result, while the group remained focused on locally produced programming across its markets.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland
Bauer Media Audio Ireland has become Ireland’s largest radio group across the main audience measures.
Its stations collectively reach 2.29 million people each week and more than 1.53 million every day.
Today FM continues to produce some of the strongest national commercial growth. Weekly reach increased by 20,000 to 974,000 and is now 46,000 higher than a year ago.
Daily reach rose by 4,000 to 524,000, a year-on-year increase of 25,000, while market share climbed by 0.4 points to 10%. It is the first time in more than a decade that Today FM has reached a double-digit share.
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show added another 8,000 listeners to reach a record 240,000. It remains the most-listened-to programme on commercial radio, having also set a record with 232,000 in the previous survey.
Dave Moore added 5,000 listeners to reach 211,000, while Ray Foley recorded Today FM’s biggest programme increase, climbing by 13,000 to 179,000.
Today FM Managing Editor Nathan Murphy previously highlighted growth throughout the station’s main daytime schedule. The new figures show that momentum continuing, although the lunchtime programme registered a marginal decline.
Newstalk’s weekly reach increased by 9,000 to 855,000 and its daily audience rose by 18,000 to 484,000. Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage gained 10,000 listeners to reach 168,000, equalling a level achieved only once before in the timeslot.
The Claire Byrne Show increased by 4,000 to 210,000, while Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan added 1,000 to reach 115,000.
Moncrieff gained 4,000 listeners and now reaches 105,000. The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman remains unchanged at 153,000.
The station also reported growth at weekends. The Saturday edition of The Pat Kenny Show added 8,000 listeners to reach 167,000, making it Newstalk’s biggest weekend programme on record. Pat Kenny’s Sunday programme increased by 3,000 to 122,000.
Tech Talk with Jess Kelly gained 8,000 to reach a record 91,000 in its Saturday lunchtime slot, while Saturday’s Off The Ball also added 8,000, taking its audience to 147,000.
Alive and Kicking with Clare McKenna increased by 4,000 to 40,000 on Sundays.
Newstalk Managing Editor Eric Moylan said the increases suggested listeners were responding positively to the schedule introduced five months ago, with growth across both weekdays and weekends.
Red FM recorded the largest disclosed station-share increase in the Bauer portfolio, rising by 2.3 points to 21.2% in Cork. That reverses the movement in the previous report, when its share slipped by 0.4 points to 18.9%.
The Neil Prendeville Show gained 10,000 listeners to reach 83,000, having added only 1,000 in the previous survey. Ciara Revins achieved a record for Red FM’s afternoon timeslot with 71,000 listeners.
SPIN1038 has a weekly reach of 253,000 and remains Bauer’s leading Dublin station among younger audiences.
At 98FM, the strongest movements came at weekends. Mark McCabe added 6,000 listeners on Saturdays to reach 27,000.
Paul Bonass produced an increase of 11,000 on Sundays, taking his audience to 30,000, while Andy Preston’s Old Skool Sunday gained 8,000 to reach 25,000.
iRadio reaches 336,000 people each week across its 15-county transmission area. It retains its previously reported strength among listeners aged 15 to 24 and 15 to 34 in the North East and North West.
Beat remains the leading station in the South East across the key measures identified by Bauer. Beat Breakfast with Niall and Shonagh reaches 52,000 daily listeners.
Bauer CEO Chris Doyle said the group’s new position at the top of the market reflected record performances across its portfolio, highlighting Today FM’s growth and the response to Newstalk’s revised schedule.
RTÉ
RTÉ remains home to the ten most-listened-to radio programmes in Ireland and 16 of the top 20. However, its overall market share has fallen from 28.8% to 28.2%, allowing Bauer to move ahead on primetime share.
Almost two million people listen to RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2FM, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta each week.
RTÉ Radio 1 remains Ireland’s biggest individual station with 1.354 million weekly listeners, down 2,000 from the previous total of 1.356 million.
Morning Ireland remains the country’s most-listened-to programme and has recovered some of its previous decline, adding 5,000 listeners to reach 457,000. It had fallen by 15,000 to 452,000 in the last report.
Today with David McCullagh reaches 422,000 listeners, giving Radio 1 three programmes above 400,000 when the Saturday edition of Brendan O’Connor is included.
Oliver Callan has 285,000 listeners in the new 11am to 1pm slot, followed by News at One with 273,000 and Liveline with Kieran Cuddihy on 254,000.
The Louise Duffy Show reaches 133,000 listeners at 3pm, while Drivetime with Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin has 211,000.
Inside Sport reaches 83,000 listeners every weekday.
At weekends, Brendan O’Connor has 400,000 listeners on Saturdays and 399,000 on Sundays. Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra reaches 212,000, Playback has 306,000 and The Business attracts 342,000. Saturday Sport and Doc On One reach 201,000 between 2pm and 6pm.
Sunday Miscellany has an audience of 279,000, Sunday with Miriam reaches 317,000 and This Week has added 12,000 listeners to reach 210,000. Sunday Sport attracts 180,000 listeners.
In the evenings, Arena reaches 42,000 each weekday and The John Creedon Show has added 2,000 to reach 57,000.
Rising Time with Shay Byrne has 56,000 listeners on weekday mornings.
The weekend editions of Rising Time with Lillian produced two of Radio 1’s biggest increases. Saturday listening rose by 15,000 to 95,000, while Sunday increased by 18,000 to 81,000.
RTÉ Radio 1 Head Tara Campbell said the station continued to lead nationally, with Morning Ireland and Today with David McCullagh substantially ahead of competing programmes in their timeslots.
RTÉ 2FM has increased its share among 15 to 34-year-olds from 9.3% to 9.4%.
Its daily reach increased by 13,000 to 325,000, while weekly reach grew by 30,000, although RTÉ did not supply the resulting weekly total.
The extended 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz and Aisling reaches 175,000 listeners between 6am and 10am and is the country’s leading programme among 15 to 34-year-olds.
The 2FM Mornings slot shared during the survey period by Doireann Garrihy and Laura Fox reaches 86,000. Laura Fox now presents 2FM Drive with Katja Mia. The 2FM Afternoon slot featuring Demi and Mikey or Tracy Clifford has 99,000 listeners.
The Drive slot shared during the survey period by Laura and Katja or Demi and Mikey added 3,000 listeners to reach 127,000 whilst the New Music Show with Beta Da Silva increased by 4,000 to 43,000.
The weekend morning slot featuring Bláthnaid Treacy or Katja Mia has 113,000 listeners on Saturdays and 126,000 on Sundays, with the Sunday audience up by 8,000.
The weekend afternoon slot presented by Helen and Benny, Demi and Mikey, or Aindriú and Taran reaches 125,000 on Saturdays and 83,000 on Sundays. The Sunday figure is up by 6,000.
Weekend Drive with Emma and Graham reaches 94,000 on Saturdays, an increase of 2,000, and remains unchanged at 86,000 on Sundays.
Eight of Ireland’s top 20 weekend programmes among 15 to 34-year-olds are now carried by 2FM.
Head of RTÉ 2FM Dan Healy said the growth in daily and weekly reach was encouraging at an early stage of the revised schedule, particularly the performance of the extended breakfast show and Beta Da Silva’s new music programme.
RTÉ lyric fm reaches 358,000 people each week, down 1,000 book-on-book but 29,000 higher than a year ago.
Its market share stands at 3.5%, slipping from the record 3.6% achieved in the previous report but remaining above the 3.1% recorded before that.
Marty in the Morning remains lyric fm’s biggest programme with 85,000 listeners, up 10,000 year-on-year.
Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive reaches 68,000, an annual increase of 4,000.
The Full Score with Liz Nolan and Aedín in the Afternoon on Fridays attract 65,000 listeners, up 18,000 year-on-year.
Niall Carroll’s Classical Daytime has added 12,000 over the year to reach 54,000.
The Mystery Train with John Kelly and Friday’s RTÉ lyric Live with Paul Herriott reach 31,000.
Movies and Musicals with Aedín Gormley has 63,000 listeners on Saturdays, while Sunday Afternoon with Simon Delaney has added 5,000 year-on-year to reach 66,000. Weekend Classics with Claudia Boyle reaches 56,000 on Saturdays and 59,000 on Sundays, with the Sunday edition up 13,000 over the year. The Hamilton Scores with George Hamilton attracts 41,000 on Saturdays and 31,000 on Sundays.
Opera Night with Paul Herriott has 28,000 listeners, Suaimhneas reaches 36,000 on Saturday evenings and The Lyric Feature has added 3,000 year-on-year to reach 30,000 on Sundays.
Head of RTÉ lyric fm Sinéad Wylde said the station had broadened its audience over the past year, with growth across weekday mornings, daytime and weekends as well as signs of a younger audience profile.
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta remains focused on Irish-language news, current affairs, music, culture and sport, although RTÉ did not publish an audience figure for the station.
RTÉ’s live digital listening increased by 3% compared with the previous quarter, helped by major news and sporting events.
It also reported increased on-demand listening to programmes including Pirate Predator, the RTÉ Rugby podcast and the RTÉ GAA podcast. A new RTÉ audio app and a daily sports podcast presented by Ger Gilroy are due to launch later in the year.
RTÉ Director of Audio Patricia Monahan said the revised Radio 1 and 2FM schedules were beginning to connect with audiences, while lyric fm had retained much of its recent momentum and Raidió na Gaeltachta continued to serve Irish-speaking listeners.
And finally
Radio Nova has 272,000 listeners and an 8.3% market share across Dublin city, county and the commuter belt.
It says it remains the leading music station in its franchise area, while Morning Glory with PJ and Jim continues to hold the leading breakfast position in Dublin.
Radio Nova expanded on DAB in May to reach a potential 85% of the population, but listening outside its existing Dublin commuter-belt survey area is not understood to be included in the JNLR results.
Radio Nova CEO and Programme Director Kevin Branigan said the station’s performance reflected its efforts to establish a distinctive position in the Dublin market.
Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio has achieved the highest daily audience in its 17-year history, with 216,000 people now listening each day and 379,000 tuning in during the week.
The station has a 6.7% primetime market share across its multicity area, covering Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Clare, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
Kevin Branigan said the latest result strengthened Classic Hits Radio’s position among Ireland’s largest commercial stations.
Sunshine 106.8 has achieved an all-time high weekday market share of 10.2%, while also topping the music station rankings at the weekend, with a 10.6% share on Saturdays and 13.6% on Sundays.
The results also mark a milestone for two of the station’s flagship programmes. The More Music Drive with Carol Dooley (Monday–Friday, 2–7pm) retains its position as the biggest programme on commercial radio in Dublin, reaching 79,000 listeners every day. At the weekend, Sunshine Gold with Joe Harrington (Sunday, 9am–3pm) remains the most listened-to commercial radio programme in Dublin, with a weekly audience of 80,000.
Sean Ashmore, CEO of Sunshine 106.8, said these are fantastic results — an all-time high market share on weekdays and weekends, and the number one commercial radio programme in Dublin across both. “It’s a real reflection of the loyalty of our listeners and the dedication of our entire team.”
