Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Here’s what happened
The latest JNLR numbers came out on Thursday so we now have a good picture of how things are going in the radio industry. JNLR figures are hugely important as listener numbers are what ultimately brings in the advertisers who pay the bills. So, let’s take a look at how things are going.
It wasn’t a great time for Radio 1
Is post pandemic news fatigue hurting Radio 1? That’s one theory being tossed around as the station suffered some tough losses. In fact, all of the peak time weekday schedule is down. That’s not good.
- Morning ireland is still the most popular show in the country, but it has had an audience drop. 433,000 listen to the show according to this book, that’s down 18,000
- Tubs chats away to an audience of 331,000, thats down 13,000 from last time
- 321,000 listen to Claire Byrne each day. That’s 10,000 less than Tubridy and 10,000 less than her audience from the last book too.
- Ronan had a loss in his last book falling 10,000 to 222,000. We’ll need to see if the slot gets a boost with Louise at the wheel, and might some of ronans audience join him on the yet to be announced show on RTÉ Gold?
- LiveLine is now heard by 310,000 which is a drop of 11,000
- Darcy only lost 2,000 in this book going down to 177,000, but that’s still a low radio 1 audience.
- 208,000 listen to Drivetime. That’s down 4,000.
Overall not great news for Radio1. They did have further to fall as they had huge gains during the pandemic, but those in RTÉ will be hoping that this is the end of the downward curve.
2FM had some ups and downs
2FM had some ups and downs in this book. While key shows are going up, the big surprise will be the loss of listeners for The 2 Johnnies. it’s a small drop, but it’s worth keeping an eye on at the same time.
- 2FM breakfast will be happy enough. 129,000 tune in each morning which is a boost of 5,000 from the last book. Two out of the shows 3 presenters are currently involved with Dancing With The Stars on RTÉ One Television, so that might give the show a visibility boost over the next few weeks. We’ll need to wait for the next book to see.
- Jennifer Zamparelli sits at 134,000 listeners which is an increase of 3,000. A small increase but every little helps. This is a part reversal for Jenifer who lost 7,000 in the last book
- Losses are mounting for Tracy Clifford who now has 116,000 listeners. She lost 7,000 back in November, and has lost another 4,000 this time.
- The 2 johnnies have had their first loss in this book, they fell 3,000 and now have 119,000. It’s a small drop as I said above, but worth watching at the same time. Things have been good for this show on other fronts though as it now has a sponsor, so it’s not all bad.
Bit of a mixed bag for 2FM but breakfast in particular has been doing very well in recent books. In general not a bad performance, just some bits worth watching.
Today FM will be happy campers
The Germans will be happy with a very strong performance for Today FM.
- Breakfast is back over 200,000 with an audience of 203,000. that’s a boost of 4,000
- It’s 207,000 for Dermot & Dave, that’s a great increase of 9,000
- Pamela Joyce has had a nice boost of 4,000 listeners. She now has 134,000
- It’s up a huge 11,000 for Foley who now has 160,000
- 8,000 new listeners for Cooper who now has an audience of 172,000
This is good news for Bauer, especially after the losses in November. Overall a great performance.
It’s mixed news for Newstalk
Some ups and downs for Newstalk. Here’s how things are going.
- 152,000 now listen to Newstalk breakfast, that’s up 5,000
- Pat Kenny is down 3,000 to 174,000. Not ideal but manageable at the same time.
- 106,000 listen to lunchtime live. That’s down 2,000
- It’s up 6,000 for Moncrieff with an audience of 96,000. That’s a nice boost bringing the show closer to the 100,000 mark.
- The hard shoulder has 159,000 which is a 3,000 boost from last time.
Nothing too bad here really. Not a clean sweep but a good performance at the same time.
Other stations
We aren’t able to go into detail on all stations, but here are 2 great sources if you want further reading.
It’s good to see that everything is still going strong in the radio industry. Some stations certainly didn’t have the best day ever, but like all things it’s a chance to learn and grow.
If you got JNLR results this week, let us know over on Twitter. @RadioLandIRL
Other News
It’s time for the return of a feature to Radio Land that we haven’t had for quite some time. It’s time for the return of…..
The Jingle Review!!!!
Tipp FM has some new jingles on air, but are they any good? Let’s take a listen.
First here’s the whole package
Overall I like the pack. It’s got a nice sound without being too punchy. I’m generaly a fan of sung jingles so the variety of lines for everything from breakfast to Christmas is right up my street.
At times I think there’s a bit of a disconnect between the sonic Logo of the station name and the rest of the jingle, but in general it’s a good package. Let’s look now at some specific jingles, starting with my favourite from the bunch.
Breakfast jingle
This breakfast jingle has a nice upbeat feel and I can hear exactly how it would fit into a breakfast show. I like how they have included two distinctive sung lines in the jingle but maintained a cohesive sound. Using a solo vocalist for the “good morning Tipperary” line really works, but at the same time if you had a version without that, a good presenter and desk operator could fit a nice good morning line of their own in that space. I don’t know if Tipp FM have that, but even if they don’t it’s a lovely sounding jingle that gives good flexibility to a capable presenter . Solid 8 out of 10.
Country Jingle
I mean look, it doesn’t exactly scream country, but it’s still a good jingle. Maybe a bit long at 13 seconds, but they use the time well. It feels like it could have been two seperate jingles for the tagline and show name, but I do still like it. 6.5 out of 10
General Jingle
I’m not really sure why, but this one doesn’t do it for me. It feels like it lacks cohesion somewhat. It feels like a resing where nobody was sure how best to use the time. it’s not awful by any means, but i think I’d get sick of it quickly. I’m not sure if it is a resing but that’s how it sounds, 5 out of 10
Christmas Jingle
Finally let’s get festive. This jingle has a great sound, but I have two small gripes. Firstly, half of deck the halls is missing, listen closely, the first two notes are like batteries in a dancing Santy, that’s to say they’re not included. Secondly, the station name feels like it was just tagged on the end with little regard for the other sung lines. In fairness I am being a bit of a grinch at this point, the singing in this jingle is great, and the idea to include Deck The Halls, well, half of Deck The Halls, fits the style brilliantly. It’s a good jingle with some small baubles out of place, so I give it 5.75 out of 10.
I generaly like the package so well done to everyone involved in creating it. I hope the team at Tipp FM enjoy using these over the next few months and years.
Lyric FM has a new partner for breakfast as Spry Finance have signed a deal to sponsor Marty in the Morning.
The sponsorship will last 6 months, with the brand getting 7 stings per show at 10 seconds each. Financial terms of the deal haven’t been announced, but RTÉ were previously looking for €35,000 for the 6 month tie up.
“Spry Finance is delighted to sponsor Marty in the Morning on RTÉ lyric FM as we feel it is the perfect fit for our brand and our customers. Our customers believe in living a greater life in later life and Marty brings the joie de vivre that we know is so important to our customers who enjoy the blend of news and travel updates from Marty.”
Ailish McGlew, Head of Marketing at Spry Finance
It’s great to see brands supporting radio in this way so hopefully the deal will go well for Spry Finance.
Quick Bits
Nobby is leaving the Strawberry Alarm clock on FM104
RTE are launching Kidcast, a new magazine show for kids
BBC Breakfast journalist Kate Varley is returning to Ireland for a job with RTÉ
Applications for the Irish media Literacy Awards have now closed
LiveLine was the most complained about show of 2022 on Irish Radio
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.