Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Here’s what happened
We got a new set of JNLR figure’s this week and there were some interesting stats hidden among all the numbers.
unfortunately, stations haven’t generally made raw data available so there’s a lot of different sources getting used. For each stat below, the corresponding source is provided. Feel free to go through all the sources in order to get a bigger picture.
- It wasn’t a great day for the team at 2FM Breakfast. According to Goss, 2FM breakfast has dropped from 126,000 listeners to 103,000. This puts them close to dipping below 100,000. There have been a lot of recent changes to this show but if this trend doesn’t reverse more changes may need to be considered. (Source)
- While not as big a drop, the same article tells us that the Jennifer Zamparelli Show has also lost listeners. The show has fallen from 152,000 to 140,000. This is a drop of 12,000 compared to the 23,000 lost on breakfast. This suggests that part of the loss is emanating from the weaker breakfast performance. (Source)
- While Tracy Clifford has also lost listeners, the drop isn’t nearly as severe. Again according to Goss, the show is down from 130,000 to 128,000. A loss of just 2,000. (Source)
- Defying the odds on weekdays though, fair play to Jenny Greene. her drivetime show has increased from 113,000 to 122,000. An increase of a very respectable 9,000 listeners. (Same source again)
2FM also lost listeners to some weekend shows. The Goss Article has also done a great job at providing those so check them out here
” These are early days for our new Breakfast Show and the chemistry between Doireann, Donncha and Carl is infectious, and we are looking forward to seeing their audience grow over the next few months.”
Dan Healy, Head of RTÉ Radio Strategy
Things might not have been great on 2fm but Radio 1 also had a bad day. Thanks again to Goss for providing way more detail than the RTÉ press release.
- 491,000 became 450,000 at morning Ireland. While the show is still irelands biggest, that’s a serious drop. (Source)
- Tubridy lost listeners too with his show dropping from 381,000 to 359,000. (Same Source)
- Some people must have missed joe telling them to wash there hands as LiveLine lost a huge chunk of listeners. The show is down from 404,000 to 346,000. That’s a drop of 58,000 listeners. (It’s same source again)
You can get more Radio 1 numbers from the Journal here
“This is a consolidation for Radio 1. The book reflects how well the changes we made in the schedule last year have played out, with strong performances for Claire Byrne, Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra, Katie Hannon, Brendan O’Connor and Bryan Dobson on the News at One.”
Peter Woods, Head of RTÉ Radio 1
Today FM were happy with there results as they are now Ireland’s 2nd biggest station.
- Ian Dempsey now has 178,000 listeners. Today FM tried to hide it, but this is down 1,000from last year. (Source One, Today FM) and (source Two, The Journal)
- Dermot & Dave are up 22,000 listeners to 205,000 (Source)
- The Last Word has gained 18,000 listeners with the show now having 170,000 listeners. (Source)
The station also had a good performance at weekend’s which they’ll tell you about on their website here
As for Newstalk, they did relatively okay even though some shows did have big losses.
- Newstalk Breakfast had a good year and are now up 17,000 for a total listenership of 137,000 (source)
- Pat Kenny has had a very nice jump in listeners as he’s now got 183,000. That’s up 28,000 from last year (Source)
- Lunchtime Live is also seeing gains with an extra 10,000 listeners.That show now has a total of (112,000 listeners (Source)
- There were big losses as well on the Newstalk schedule though as there are now 20,000 less people tuning into Moncrieff with a total of 76,000 (source)
- It’s even worse at The Hard Shoulder which has lost 31,000 listeners and now stands at a total of 146,000. Still a respectable number but certainly not ideal (Source)
The station had some nice gains on weekends too and The Journal do a great job covering those. Check them out here
“We are delighted to see Newstalk make significant audience gains in the latest results. It clearly shows there is a demand for talk radio that engages, entertains and provides a clear alternative to RTE Radio 1.”
Newstalk managing editor Patricia Monahan
Outside of individual station performances the interesting stat for me was that 450,000 people listen to radio on a digital device daily. That will be an interesting stat to watch going forward as more people get smart speakers and similar devices. (Source)
Unfortunately, I am just one man and I’m not going to be able to provide info for every single station. I’d love to, but it’s not humanly possible.
What I will do is provide a number of sources for you below that can hopefully help you find what your looking for.
In other news
Brian O’Donovan has been announced as RTE’s new work and technology corespondent. He will be working across digital, TV and radio when he takes up the new role in February.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a complete reimagining of how we all work and technology has allowed us to make these major transitions. As people navigate their way through the ‘new normal’, I am excited to be taking on the role of Work and Technology Correspondent, a position that will be at the centre of RTÉ’s coverage of our changing world.”
Brian’s statement from RTÉ Press release
Finally this week, Mairead Ronan has finished hosting her Today FM show. In her final links, she spoke about the importance of focusing on what made her happy – her family. Very best of luck to her from us at Radio Land.
Quick Bits
Irish YouTuber totally Not Mark has found himself at the centre of a copyright dispute which threatens the fair dealing defence relied on by many Irish radio stations there have been updates posted here (update: both videos have been made private since publication of this article)
98FM’s dame Stuffy is in the Last Singer Standing Final Tonight on RTÉ One
In case your wondering, our sister service Irish Media Beat found that the number was 46% for TV
The 2FM audience voted this week for an award in the Junk Kouture competition
And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.