RTÉ top shows hold strong amid 2fm weekday decline

RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Today with Claire Byrne, and The Brendan O’Connor Show continue to dominate as the country’s top radio programmes, although 2fm has seen a drop in weekday listeners.

According to the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures, Morning Ireland remains the most popular show, even after a drop of 21,000 listeners - from 486,000 to 465,000 (book-on-book).

Today with Claire Byrne is next in line with 342,000 listeners, down 2,000 from the last survey.

Brendan O'Connor also attracts 342,000 listeners on Saturdays (+2,000 BoB), although his Sunday audience is slightly smaller, down by 7,000 to 339,000 (BoB).

Oliver Callan who is on the air from 9 - 10am Monday-Friday has 338,000 listeners each day (+2,000 BoB).

Book-on-book is a comparison of the average listenership for programmes across the four previous quarters (three-month periods).

Peter Woods, Head of RTÉ Radio 1 said: "This is a solid book that consolidates and builds on the gains made by Radio 1, and is particularly heartening for Oliver Callan, who is less than 12 months in that slot and backed by a great team.

"We remain strong across the day and through the weekends for listeners, with Current Affairs, Music and Arts programmes all performing.

"We look forward now to bringing our listeners extensive coverage of the General Election."

Several shows have seen growth, including Arena (+8,000 BoB), Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin (+8,000 BoB), News at One (+7,000 BoB), Liveline with Joe Duffy (+5,000 BoB) and The Business on Saturday mornings (+6,000 BoB).

On 2fm, Monday to Friday listenership has dropped somewhat, following recent schedule changes.

2FM Breakfast has seen a decrease of 7,000, bringing its audience to 142,000 since the last survey.

Laura Fox on 2fm has lost 8,000 (BoB) listeners, with a total of 133,000, and Tracy Clifford is down by 9,000 (BoB) to 119,000.

2FM Drive has dropped by 12,000 (BoB), now sitting at 145,000 listeners.

Despite these dips, RTÉ 2fm said it has received hundreds of applications from people eager to audition for presenting roles and will announce a new schedule early next year.

However, the station's weekend lineup has gained traction, with 2fm Breakfast on Saturdays seeing a boost of 10,000 listeners to 67,000 since the last JNLR report.

The weekend morning show is doing particularly well, with Weekends on 2fm from 9am-12 noon attracting 153,000 listeners on Saturdays (+17,000 BoB) and 137,000 on Sundays (+9,000 BoB).

Roz and Emma on 2fm also draw in 128,000 listeners on Saturdays (-5,000 BoB) and 109,000 on Sundays (+11,000 BoB).

Dan Healy, Head of RTÉ 2FM, said: " During the summer we asked for expressions of interest in presenting on 2FM. We received hundreds of applications. Unsurprisingly, the talent in Ireland is phenomenal and the interest in presenting radio shows was huge.

Over six days we met many of the applicants, many of whom have been piloting shows. We have been working hard on the new schedule and over the next while we will be unveiling our line-up full of gifted radio presenters who we are confident will meet the needs of young audiences in Ireland."

Over on RTÉ lyric fm, Marty in the Morning draws in 68,000 listeners (+1,000 BoB), Sunday Afternoon with Simon Delaney has 62,000 (+2,000 BoB), and Evonne Ferguson’s Daybreak on Saturday mornings has 46,000 listeners (+3,000 BoB).

Speaking on the latest figures, 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.

"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."

Round out the top 20 radio programmes in Ireland are The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk with 241,000 listeners, The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM with 209,000 and Dermot and Dave / Dave Moore also on Today FM with 208,000.