LAST UPDATE | 20 Nov 2025

RTÉ WILL PERMANENTLY shut down four digital radio stations at the end of the year.

The impacted stations are RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Pulse and RTÉjr Radio.

The four digital stations will no longer be broadcast from 31 December.

The move was initially announced by RTÉ in 2019, and the broadcaster had signalled the closure again November 2023 as part of a wide range of cost-cutting measures.

The actual shutdown date has only now been confirmed.

It’s understood that there are no job losses as a result of the move.

In a letter from RTÉ to the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, the broadcaster cited a “number of factors” for the shutting down of the stations.

These reasons include “financial and efficiency factors”, the minimal audience demand for digital radio services, and the planned “streamlining” of RTÉ’s audio offering.

RTÉ says any savings from the closures will be reinvested into developing modern digital platforms, including a new RTÉ audio app, which the broadcaster said will hopefully be operational by 2026.

The broadcaster also maintains that the impact on listeners will be minimal, as much of the specialised content from the closing stations will be integrated into existing services such as 2FM, podcasts, the RTÉ Player, and the new audio app.

The four stations being closed cover a range of audiences and genres.

RTÉ 2XM focuses on alternative and independent music, giving a platform to emerging Irish bands, while RTÉ Pulse specialises in dance, hip-hop, and electronic music from both Irish and international DJs. 

Sad to report our little oasis @rte2xm is to close permanently on dec 31st 2025. I’ve been with it since it opened in 2007 and I for one will be very sad to see it go and the JK EXPERIENCE will be no more we have a few shows left so pitch up every Sunday at 1400 if you would pic.twitter.com/fjA4nopDgW

— john kenny (@JohnKennyMedia) November 19, 2025

Both stations have already scaled back their original programming since the station shutdowns were announced, with much of their daily output now made up of pre-set playlists.

According to the national media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, RTÉ has indicated that it will transition these services’ “niche content” to a refreshed 2FM schedule and into on-demand digital formats.

RTÉjr Radio provides children’s programming, including stories, songs, and educational content.

RTÉ Radio 1 Extra is the digitally distributed sister station of RTÉ Radio 1.

The four stations being discontinued do not generate commercial revenue, Commisiún na Meán said, making their closure “financially low-risk”.

Digital radio in Ireland has largely operated on digital terrestrial TV, cable platforms and online streaming, after RTÉ shut down its national Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network in 2021.

Digital-only stations like 2XM, Pulse, Radio 1 Extra and RTÉjr Radio were originally launched as part of RTÉ’s DAB trial, offering genre-specific or specialist content that wasn’t carried on traditional FM.

Although the DAB network closed, the stations continued on Saorview and online until now.