Sundays with Miriam saw a significant increase of 20,000 daily listeners to 337,000, Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures reveal.
Radio 1 is the most popular station in the State, reaching 1.3 million listeners a week, JNLR figures show. Its market share of 35- to 54 year-olds sits at 13.6 per cent, down slightly from 14 per cent in the last survey.
The figures released on Thursday come ahead of a huge upheaval to RTÉ Radio 1’s daytime scheduling, due to come into effect next week.
But RTÉ 2FM suffered a loss of 24,000 since the last survey. It now reaches 653,000 listeners a week. The station increased its share to 10.4 per cent among 15– to 34-year-olds.
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Brendan O’Connor’s audience grew by 7,000 listeners on Saturdays since the last survey, taking it to 419,000. His Sunday listenership was up by 18,000 to 427,000.
Morning Ireland retained its place as the most-listened-to programme on Irish radio. On weekdays, the show increased by 2,000 listeners since the last survey to register an audience of 471,000. Oliver Callan registered 347,000 daily listeners, down 7,000.
Several big names in radio have made moves in the last month, the most notable being Ray D’Arcy departing from RTÉ after 11 years. Newstalk’s Kieran Cuddihy takes up a new role as Liveline presenter from next Monday, replacing Joe Duffy. JNLR figures show that Liveline dropped by 20,000, bringing its listenership to 279,000.
Claire Byrne made a gentler exit, signing off on her final show with RTÉ last week after what she described as “the most wonderful 15 years” with the national broadcaster.
Her departure follows the announcement in August that Byrne was planning to rejoin Newstalk and host the weekday morning slot being vacated by Pat Kenny who is moving to a weekend show.
Today with Claire Byrne remained stable at 354,000 listeners, with no change since the last survey, while Louise Duffy’s audience of 215,000 dropped 4,000. News at One recorded an audience of 284,000 – dropping 14,000 since the last survey.
Ray D’Arcy dropped 1,000 to reach 181,000, while Drivetime increased by 5,000 to a listenership of 222,000.
Tara Campbell, head of RTÉ Radio 1, said the station was embarking “on an exciting new chapter” with its new schedule due to start on Monday.
“It’s great to see that we’re building from a position of strength as the biggest station in the country with over 1.3 million listeners tuning in every week and as the market leader for listeners aged 35 to 54,” she said.
Bauer Media Audio’s Today FM has 930,000 weekly listeners, with the station recording a daily reach of 503,000 and a market share of 8.8 per cent.
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show’s audience of 218,000 is up 5,000 since the last survey, taking the spot from Newstalk’s Pat Kenny for the most listened to show on commercial radio.
Dave Moore is up 6,000 to 204,000, while Louise Cantillon’s listenership saw the station’s biggest jump in this survey, up 10,000, bringing her listeners to 129,000.
The Last Word with Matt Cooper was up 3,000 to 184,000 on Saturdays, while The Anton Savage Show delivered a record high Saturday audience of 146,000.
Off the Ball is down 8,000 to 150,000 on Saturday, while its Sunday audience remains stable at 155,000.
Onic brands in Ireland, which include Dublin’s FM104 and Q102, Cork’s 96fm and C103, Live 95 in Limerick, LMFM and U105 in Belfast, reached 800,000 listeners every week.
Daily listenership for the brand this survey stands at 528,000, representing an increase of 12 per cent of new listeners across the last year.
In Dublin, FM104 reaches a weekly audience of 278,000 listeners with a market share of 7.8 per cent.
The combined offering of Cork’s 96FM and C103 delivered a combined market share of 30.1 per cent. Individually, 96FM attracts 112,000 daily listeners, while C103 registered 76,000.
In Limerick, Live 95 registered a market share of 25.1 per cent, while LMFM in the Louth/Meath regions recorded a market share of 38.7 per cent.
Mark Cunning, group content director of Onic, said: “This JNLR book delivers powerful results for Onic Urban, surpassing the 1,000,000 weekly reach mark – a fantastic milestone that highlights the enduring connection our stations have with our listeners.
“The significant growth across all key metrics is a direct testament to the hard work and creative talent visible across all our sites and stations right across the island of Ireland.”
The JNLR survey, compiled on behalf of the radio industry by research firm Ipsos, shows 90 per cent of adults listen to the radio on a weekly basis, with listeners tuning in for an average of four hours every day.
