NEWSTALK’S THE HARD Shoulder with Ivan Yates is one of the biggest winners of the latest release of radio listenership figures.
The drivetime show gained 10,000 listeners in the last quarter and now reaches 183,000 people daily, breaking into the top 20 most-listened to shows on Irish radio.
The Hard Shoulder is in 20th place on that list, with all of the other 19 shows being broadcast on RTÉ Radio One.
RTÉ’s Morning Ireland remains the most-listened to show in the country, reaching 424,000 people daily, an increase of 3,000 on the previous quarter.
Despite RTÉ One’s apparent domination of radio listenership, some of the station’s major news-focused shows have dipped since May.
While Ryan Tubridy and Ray D’Arcy have both increased their listenerships according to the JNLR figures, Today with Sean O’Rourke, the News at One and Drivetime have all lost listeners.
The News at One recorded a 5,000 quarterly fall having also fallen by 9,000 in the three months previous.
Here’s a breakdown (all figures refer to changes since the last quarter)
RTÉ
RTÉ Radio One’s managing editor described the listenership figures as “solid” and said that the station’s programmes were “performing well across the board”.
“We’re particularly happy with the gains for Ryan Tubridy and Ray D’Arcy. We’re also very happy to have increased our market share overall, driven by gains in our key demographics,” he said.
Communicorp-owned Newstalk hailed the results for The Hard Shoulder and said its listenership was now “an all-time high for a Newstalk programme”.
The station also said it had consolidated its position as the second-most-listened to station in Ireland.
Managing editor of Newstalk Patricia Monahan said the station was “delighted” with the results.
“It is great to see the audience responding to our unique blend of opinion and analysis on everything from health and housing issues to the best blockbusters and Beaujolais,” she said.
The release of the latest figures comes two days after Today FM announced a big shake up of its its afternoon and evening programming.
The station announced on Tuesday that presenters Muireann O’Connell and Louise Duffy are leaving the station with Mairead Ronan making a comeback in O’Connell’s slot.
O’Connell said in a tweet that she had been “fired” by the station. The latest figures show that she gained 3,000 listeners in the past three months, with Fergal D’Arcy also gaining 3,000 listeners.
In the previous quarter, both O’Connell and D’Arcy had lost 6,000 listeners in the three months to May.
Matt Cooper’s programme remains in third place in the competitive drivetime battle with RTÉ One and Newstalk but lost just 1,000 listeners in the recent quarter after a 10,000 jump last time out.
Station CEO Keith McCormack has hailed Today FM’s performance among the 25-44 age bracket as a key result for the station.
“Today FM is the number 1 station in the increasingly competitive 25-44 year old market and reassuringly, we can see that they’re listening to Today FM for longer, staying with us throughout the day,” he said.
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