2FM’s big names like Ryan Tubridy have continued to lose listeners, according to the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) audience figures published this evening – with Tubridy’s listenership now at an all-time low.
Listener numbers to Tubridy’s two-hour 9am show on 2fm now stand at 175,000 – losing a further 11,000 listeners on top of the 16,000 he had lost in the previous quarter.
His audience is now less than half of the 363,000 peak audience he had enjoyed on Radio 1 before his move to fill the slot vacated by Gerry Ryan; Ryan’s listenership stood at 303,000 in the last figures released before his death in April of last year.
Station manager John McMahon said he was confident that “ongoing work we’re doing to improve both Hector [Ó hEochagáin]and Ryan’s shows, and indeed every show on 2fm, will pay dividends over time”, but conceded that there were “changes that have to bed down fully”.
The station did not release audience details for Ó hÉochagáin’s ‘Breakfast with Hector’ show.
Its veteran Larry Gogan performed strongly, however, with his Golden Hour adding 7,000 listeners to 85,000, while the Colm Hayes Show also added listeners.
RTÉ Radio 1 remains the country’s most listened-to radio station, with 18 of the 20 most popular programmes on radio, as Morning Ireland remaining easily the most listened-to radio programme in the country.
Its listenership has fallen slightly, however, from 460,000 in the last quarterly update to 454,000 in today’s data.
Liveline is the second most popular programme with an audience of 398,000 – though its audience is also down, by 2,000.
Many of the station’s daytime shows saw their audiences fall slightly, though they remain increased on the same period from last year.
Today FM consolidated its status as the country’s second most popular station, with Ray D’Arcy’s audience up by 16,000 listeners to 228,000 – further widening the gap between his show and Tubridy’s to 53,000 – though the RTÉ star’s show is an hour shorter.
There were also modest gains for Ian Dempsey and Tony Fenton, who both gained 1,000 listeners each, though Matt Cooper saw his Last Word audience fall by the same amount. Ray Foley’s lunchtime show fell by 4,000 to 141,000.
The station’s chief executive Willie O’Reilly said the station was “in a growth phase” and was winning listeners which had previously been held by opposing stations.
His Newstalk counterpart Frank Cronin said he was “delighted” with Newstalk’s performance, which sees it break the cumulative barrier of 300,000 listeners per day.
Its Breakfast show now commands an audience of 115,000, closing the gap on the station’s most popular show The Right Hook which commands an audience of 121,000.
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