Bauer Media Audio Ireland has retained its position as Ireland’s largest radio group, reaching 2.29 million people every week and 1.53 million each day, according to the latest JNLR/Ipsos figures.
Its primetime market share has increased from 29.46% in August to 29.59%, while Newstalk has added 27,000 weekly listeners and Today FM has recorded another increase in its audience.
The JNLR 2026-3 survey, covering October 2025 to September 2026, puts total radio listening at 3,483,000 adults on an average weekday, approximately 13,000 fewer than the 3,496,000 reported in August.
Weekly listening stands at 3,992,000. RTÉ, which reaches almost two million people each week, has reported an overall market share of 28.3%, up from 28.2%, although its share figure and Bauer’s primetime figure are described using different measures.
RTÉ Radio 1 remains the country’s most-listened-to individual station, reaching 1,365,000 listeners each week.
Bauer’s eight-station portfolio includes Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, SPIN 1038, SPIN South West, Red FM, iRadio and Beat. Its weekly audience is unchanged at the rounded 2.29 million figure reported in August, while the group has retained its lead over RTÉ by weekly reach.
Bauer CEO Chris Doyle said: “I am particularly delighted with Newstalk’s performance.”
Newstalk has increased its weekly audience from 855,000 to 882,000 and its daily audience from 484,000 to 511,000, with market share rising from 7.8% to 8.3%.
The Claire Byrne Show has added 12,000 listeners to reach 222,000, The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman is up 17,000 to 170,000, Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan has grown by 11,000 to 126,000 and Moncrieff has gained 8,000 to reach 113,000.
Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage has dipped by 1,000 to 167,000, while weekday evenings with Off The Ball are up 6,000 to 51,000.
The station has also recorded increases at weekends, with Pat Kenny reaching 175,000 on Saturdays, up 8,000, and 134,000 on Sundays, up 12,000. Tech Talk with Jess Kelly has increased by 10,000 to 101,000, while Sunday’s Off The Ball with John Duggan has added 29,000 to reach 162,000.
Newstalk reports Saturday and Sunday market shares of 7.5% and 7% respectively, and Screentime with John Fardy now reaches 33,000 listeners.
Today FM has increased weekly reach by 2,000 to 976,000 and daily reach by 3,000 to 527,000, although its market share has eased from 10% to 9.9%. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show has risen for the seventh successive survey, adding 5,000 to reach 245,000, while The Last Word with Matt Cooper remains on 195,000.
Dave Moore has declined by 6,000 to 205,000, Louise Cantillon is down 2,000 to 132,000 and Ray Foley is down 1,000 to 178,000. The new evening programme with Dave and Fionnuala has gained 6,000 to reach 44,000, while Alison Curtis has increased by 16,000 to 204,000 on Saturday mornings and Ben Murray has added 22,000 to reach 190,000.
Across Bauer’s regional stations, SPIN 1038 reaches 242,000 people weekly, down from 253,000 in August, while Fully Charged with Emma, Dave and Fiona has increased by 2,000 to 49,000 daily listeners. Red FM reaches 157,000 listeners each week in Cork, with Red FM Breakfast with KC up 3,000 to 50,000, although The Neil Prendeville Show has fallen from 83,000 to 78,000. The new release does not provide a directly comparable update to Red FM’s 21.2% Cork market share in August.
iRadio’s weekly audience has declined from 336,000 to 328,000, although iMornings with Cooper and Oonagh has increased by 5,000 to 79,000. Beat reaches 171,000 weekly listeners across the South East, with Beat Breakfast with Niall Power and Shonagh Lyons up 2,000 to 54,000 and Beat Drive with Lydia Des Dolles up 3,000 to 41,000.
In Dublin, 98FM reaches 176,000 people weekly, with Big Breakfast with Rebecca and Brendan on 36,000 and Leanne Hanafin’s morning programme on 27,000, up 1,000. SPIN South West has 155,000 weekly listeners, with Eoghain Fitz adding 6,000 to reach 54,000 at drivetime.
Onic reports continued growth for Q102, where The Kathryn Thomas Breakfast Show has increased by 2,000 to 39,000 daily listeners and is 9,000 ahead of its audience a year ago. The station reports a 0.2 percentage point increase in market share, following the 4.9% recorded in August. FM104 has a 6.1% Dublin market share, while Live 95 has increased its primetime share by 4.3 percentage points to 29.5% in Limerick and LMFM holds a 26.5% primetime share across Louth and Meath.
In Cork, 96FM has increased its share by 0.2 points to 14.8% while C103 has 12.5%, with a combined weekly audience of 175,000. Onic’s wider Urban National Package reaches more than 885,000 people weekly, but includes commercial partners Galway Bay FM and WLR, so should not be treated as the audience for Onic-owned stations alone.
Bay Broadcasting says its four stations, Classic Hits Radio, Sunshine 106.8, Radio Nova and Galway Bay FM, reach a combined 834,000 weekly listeners, putting the Irish owned group 137,000 ahead of Onic.
Radio Nova has increased its weekly audience by 5,000 to 277,000 across Dublin and the commuter belt, with market share in that wider area rising from 8.3% to 8.8%.
Its Dublin share is 8.7%, while Sunshine 106.8 has maintained a 10.2% share in the capital and FM104 stands at 6.1%. Sunshine’s More Music Drive with Carol Dooley has retained 79,000 listeners, while Sunshine Gold with Joe Harrington has fallen from 80,000 to 74,000.
Classic Hits Radio has increased weekly reach by 10,000 to 389,000 and daily listening by 5,000 to 221,000, with Classic Hits At Work with Trina Mara up 6,000 to 101,000 and Damian Farrelly in the Afternoon up 3,000 to 114,000.
Galway Bay FM reports 118,000 weekly and 62,000 daily listeners, with a 24.3% market share in Galway city and county.
RTÉ Radio 1 has increased weekly reach by 11,000 from 1,354,000 to 1,365,000, while holding a 19.3% market share.
Morning Ireland has gained 7,000 to reach 464,000 listeners, and Liveline with Kieran Cuddihy is up 14,000 to 268,000.
Today with David McCullagh has slipped by 1,000 to 421,000, Oliver Callan is down 2,000 to 283,000 and News at One has declined by 2,000 to 271,000. Drivetime with Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin has fallen by 9,000 to 202,000, while Inside Sport has gained 5,000 to reach 88,000.
There are further gains at weekends for Radio 1, with Brendan O’Connor’s Saturday programme up 11,000 to 411,000, although Sunday has fallen by 8,000 to 391,000. Countrywide has increased by 27,000 to 257,000, while The Business has gained 9,000 to reach 351,000 and Playback has added 9,000 to reach 315,000. Sunday Miscellany is up 10,000 to 289,000, Sunday with Miriam has gained 5,000 to reach 322,000 and The John Creedon Show has increased by 3,000 to 60,000 on weekday evenings.
RTÉ 2FM reaches 676,000 people each week and has increased daily reach by 8,000 to 333,000, with its overall market share standing at 4.8%.
Breakfast with Carl, Roz and Aisling has added 14,000 listeners to reach 189,000, 2FM Afternoons with Demi and Mikey is up 3,000 to 102,000 and the New Music Show with Beta Da Silva has increased by 4,000 to 47,000.
RTÉ lyric fm has slipped by 5,000 to 353,000 weekly listeners, while holding its 3.5% market share. Marty in the Morning is up 7,000 to 92,000 and Sunday Afternoon with Simon Delaney has added 8,000 to reach 74,000, although Niall Carroll’s Classical Daytime and Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive have fallen by 4,000 and 5,000 respectively.
The IRS+ independent radio network has maintained a 21.4% share of national listening and reaches 1.41 million people weekly across its 15-station network, with weekly reach among 15 to 34-year-olds rising by 7% year on year to 336,000. KCLR in Kilkenny and Carlow has increased weekly reach by 22% year on year to 72,000, with its local market share climbing from 31% in August to 35.4%. IRS+ also highlights Radio Nova’s rise to 277,000 weekly listeners.
The figures are drawn from the JNLR/Ipsos 2026-3 rolling 12-month survey, with book-on-book comparisons against the 2026-2 survey published in August.
