2023 (JNLR’s, buyouts, and a pinch of Ryan Tubridy)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s what Happened

Bauer are buying another radio station. Yes, another one.

This time it’s Iradio’s turn to become part of the big radio family, subject to them getting all the necessary go ahead from regulators, competition bodies, etc.

We can speculate about what this means, but realistically we know the playbook at this point. Cash Machine, GoLoud, and maybe a presenter shakeup. Bauers already huge grip on the industry was clear to see, and now it’s getting even tighter.

It’s hard to know how to put this, but Bauer is at this point taking over not just radio stations, but also the industry as a whole. There buying more and more stations, but even stations operated by other operators are doing things the Bauer way. That can’t be healthy.

Rather than do big analysis of this deal, we’re just going to ask a simple question. Is Bauer too big? Go vote on our Instagram story now.

Read the story here

It’s been another crazy three months, and it’s time to see who’s going up and down with the latest JNLR results.

Let’s start with Radio 1

RTE has had a disastrous few months, but at least for now listenership seems okay. With Tubridy leaving we might see big changes here soon, but let’s look at where we’re at now.

440,000 listen to Morning Ireland, which is a boost of 3,000 from last time. Every little helps
Last time I covered listenership numbers for tubs I called him “the most talked about man in Ireland”. i mean at least I know my content is evergreen. Anyway, unfortunately Tubridy won’t be going out on a high, he lost 1,000 listeners and had 334,000 tuning in.
Today with Claire Byrne has 323,000 listeners. That’s down 4,000 but she gain 6,000 last time so it’s not too bad.
News at One is up 3,000 and now sits at 303,000 listeners, or so RTÉ say. There seems to be an error here somewhere as RTEs last reported listenership was 299,000 from the show. Either the slot gain 4,000 listeners, or RTÉ under reported listeners last time. It’s also possible that they’ve over reported listeners in this book. We’ve reached out to RTÉ media sales to clarify and will update the article if we receive a response.
LiveLine is down 1,000 and sits at 305,000. This is based on numbers from the Irish Times, as RTÉ didn’t include the numbers for the show in their press release.
183,000 listeners tune into Ray Darcy which is up 2,000. Ray was on a down hill slope there for a while but he’s up 6,000 in the last two books.
Drivetime also did well and has seen listener numbers grow. It’s up 6,000 for an audience of 220,000.

Seems like an okay book for the station, with strong growth being seen at the weekend too. RTE haven’t shared numbers for Louise Duffy, so I’ll update the article if I get those. All in all an okay book though.

RTE 2FM is also doing okay

Really 2FM has seen good results for key shows. Let’s take a look at how things are going

2FM Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha, and Carl has 138,000 listeners. They’ve shown consistent steady growth and are up another 3,000 this book.
133,000 listen to Jennifer Zamparelli, which is the same as last time.
Tracey Clifford is having a bit of a bad time at the moment losing yet more listeners. She’s now at 107,000 which is a 2,000 drop. She’s lost 20,000 in the last 4 books, so that’s got to sting a little.
The 2 johnnies had a lovely boost of 10,000 and now sit at 140,000. That’s really as good as it gets. Fair play.

Generally all good news, but it’s looking like it’s time for some changes for Tracey. Hopefully she gets a boost next time as otherwise I’d be very concerned for her. Can she do a ray Darcy and turn it around?

“2FM is in good health following the publication of listenership results for the most recent period. In general, most of our programmes have experienced an increase in audience. Particularly pleasing for all of us at 2FM is the continuous growth at breakfast time with Doireann, Donncha and Carl. With each quarter the show experiences steady growth. Producer Grace Callaghan and right hand person Willem McCarthy also deserve credit for the good shape the show is in. The two lads from Cahir , not yet on air two years, are out performing 2FM’s primetime share by 25%, this is a phenomenal result for The 2 Johnnies. Our new weekend schedule is also bedding in well and I look forward to the next set of results. As ever a massive thanks to our loyal audience and big welcome to our new listeners.”
2FM boss Dan Healy

Today FM will be happy out

Today FM will be happy out with their results as most weekday shows are up. Some of the gains aren’t small either.

221,000 tune into Ian Dempsey each morning, which is a boost of a huge 13,000 from last time. Well done Ian.
Dermot and Dave had a listenership of 216,000, an 11,000 boost. Dermot has left the show now but it’s cool to see that he left on a high. We’ll need to wait and see if Dave can hold the audience solo.
Pamala Joyce has gained 9,000 listeners and now sits at 145,000. Today FM say she’s up nearly 10,000 listeners, which is mildly entertaining. 9,000 is nearly 10,000 so I suppose it’s fair enough.
Ray Foley continues to crush it. He’s up, again. He’s gained 10,000 and now has 173,000.
Matt cooper now has 174,000 up 7,000. This more than reverses his drop from last book.

Really it doesn’t get much better than this. Today FM are doing amazing on Basicaly every metric, and I’d imagine the German bosses at Bauer will be happy campers.

What’s the news with Newstalk

Newstalk has only recently undertaken a visual rebrand, and they’ve also been doing some advertising. While we won’t see the results of that in this book, let’s take a look at how they’re getting on.

Newstalk breakfast had another drop, and now sits at 145,000. That’s down 4,000.
179,000 people are tuning into Pat Kenny, a 6,000 listener increase according to the station. That doesn’t quite add up as they claimed he had 174,000 last time, so there’s an error somewhere. He’s up, but the details are a bit unclear.
Lunchtime live is down 4,000 and sits at 102,000. That’s dangerously close to that 100,000 clif edge
Moncrieff reached 103,000 daily listeners which is an increase of 5,000. Back over the 100,000, how bad.
149,000 listen to The Hard Shoulder, that’s down 3,000. The show has now lost 10,000 in the last 2 books.

Outside of Kenny it’s not really great news, and even pats numbers are slightly unclear. We’ll need to hold out and see if the advertising makes any difference, but this book could have gone better.

“delighted to see more listeners tuning in every day, choosing us as their talk station. We welcome them and look forward to engaging with them in conversation that counts in the coming months,”
Newstalk Managing Editor Patricia Monahan

Overall

Things are still ticking along nicely. The next few books will be interesting as we see the fallout from all the RTÉ drama, but that’s for another day.

You can check out the links below for sources.

Finally this week a story that in some ways I didn’t expect. It’s official, Ryan Tubridy is not going to be returning to radio 1, at least for now.

The news came on Thursday evening when RTÉs Director general Kevin Bakhurst issued a statement saying he was concluding negotiations. Kevin spoke of a breakdown in trust between the parties, following a statement from Ryan responding to a Grant Thornton report.

Despite having agreed some of the fundamentals, including fee, duration and hours, regretfully, it is my view that trust between the parties has broken down. Public statements made without consultation appear to question the basis for the necessary restatement of fees paid for services for 2020 and 2021.
Section of the statement from Kevin Bakhirst

The debate is now over. Love or hate Ryan, you won’t be hearing him on radio 1. Following the announcement there were some nice tributes to Ryan on the news, which in many ways felt like eulogies to his career. we also had Kevin Bakhurst give an interview to Morning Ireland, confirming that Tubridy is perfectly entitled to head over to Newstalk or virgin now.

Who knows what’s next for Ryan. He could certainly make money with a podcast if he wants to. It’s also unclear what’s going to happen to his slot on radio. It’s the end of an era in some ways, but it can also be seen as an exciting time for change. this might well be the making of Ryan, but perhaps that’s too optimistic. I certainly don’t envy how he feels right now as if you think about it, he’s actually been canceled.

Best wishes to Ryan and RTÉ. Hopefully this relationship can heal in time.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

Liam Thompson is replacing Colm Hayes as PD at Irelands Classic Hits Radio

⁨Sheila Naughton⁩ has started a new job at Newstalk after stepping down as Tipp FMs head of news

The second series of podcasts produced by the Irish Prison Service is out now, well worth a listen

Malachi Cush is hosting a new RTE radio 1 show

The Doc On One podcast is up for sponsorship

BBC are airing a 4 part radio documentary on Seamus Heaney

And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for more fun from the world of radio.

This Week In Radio 3/6/2023 (radio news about a radio play about radio)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s What Happened

A radio station in Galway produced a radio play about a radio station in Galway, and it’s really good.

One Day gives us a glimpse behind the scenes at Soft FM, a radio station which we’re told has lots of listeners in its franchise area. Narrated by the stations former CEO, we get fascinating insights into all aspects of the stations operations.

From a journalism student reading her first bulletin to a late night shows bid to give away tickets to a Saw Doctors tribute band, this play really has it all.

One Day features 36 different Galway Bay FM staff members, and really does a brilliant job of telling a fun and entertaining story. The play is written by Ollie Turner and produced by Matthew Lyons.

You can listen to the play for free on the Galway Bay FM website, which I’d highly recommend. Well done to all involved in creating this fantastic piece of radio.

Go listen here

RTE has been directed by The Information Commissioner to release findings of a workplace audit at its current affairs department. RTE previously resisted the release, as they argued that it contained “the views and opinions of others about certain individuals” which were “akin to performance appraisals”

RTE has been instructed to release the findings, but some details can be redacted. RTE have told staff they don’t intend to appeal, so the report will likely be released to the National Union of Journalists current affairs branch who originally requested it under Freedom of Information.

comments on the “communication style, editorial direction and people management skills of identifiable individuals can be redacted, however,generalised comments about gender equality, “fairness in promotional opportunities”, problem resolution and dignity and respect standards in RTÉ, as well as the consultant’s recommendations, should all be released.

Who knows if the report will ever make it to the public domain, but either way at least the staff will get access to it. It would be interesting to know how people find working in Irish media. Are the managers good? Do people feel respected? These questions are important in any workplace, so it would be good to know.

Head over to our Twitter now and tell us, do you feel respected by your employer? Hopefully more radio stations are asking these questions and paying atention to the result.

There’s a great article on this story from the Irish times, so if your interested check it out below.

Read the story here

Promotional material for RTE’s Summer of Sport

Brands who want to go all in on sport over the summer now have the perfect sponsor opportunity.

RTE are bundling a number of sports sponsorships together in order to give brands the ability to be associated with all RTEs sports offerings.

The offer consists of 7 day sports updates for both Radio 1 and 2FM, as well as sponsorship of 2FM’s evening sports show Game On. Even though RTÉ is bundling these together, it could still be bought by an agency who choose to split it for 3 brands.

The overall cost of the bundle is €140,000. It’s certainly expensive, but it could be worth it to a brand who are in the sports field.

I do think RTÉ should consider offering a digital ad on with sponsorships of their sports podcasts and sports updates on RTÉ Gold, as that would be a good way to increase revenue for the broadcaster. It’s certainly good to see RTÉ offering competitive sponsorships though, and it will be interesting to see who picks up the package.

Get the details here

Quick Bits

Dave Mac can continue hosting his show from Dublin 3 days a week, with the case to return to court on June 15th

This years Giving for Living Radiothon has raised €429,597

98FM presenter Suzanne Kane has spoken about her experience spending time in hospital

Evelyn Cusack retired this week

Mise Sessions is a new series coming to Radio 1 from Monday

This Week In Radio 29/4/2023 (radio advertising lives on)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s What Happened

Everyone knows how important ads are for the radio industry. If we don’t have brands wanting to advertise, then the whole radio industry falls apart. Sure Bauer might still make a few Bob off the cash machine, but it’s certainly not enough to keep the lights on.

Thankfully, Radiocentre Ireland revealed this week that the radio advertising market is continuing to grow. they released some fascinating figures for q1 2023 showing that everything is still operating as planned.

We had €30.8m in spot revenue, that’s an increase of 6% from the same period last year. It’s good to see the main supply of revenue is continuing to grow.
Branded content such as outside broadcasts and sponsorships was the only category to see a drop. The drop was only 1% and the category still brought in €6.4m, but it’s going to be worth keeping an eye on this in the coming months.
Digital revenue resulted in the biggest growth. This important segment grew by a huge 49% to €1.7m, which is great to see as it will be very important over the next few months and years. The industry is changeing and getting ready for a more digital future, so this growth is a good sign for the long term viability of radio.

Ultimately this is just 3 months, but it’s still good news. For a lot in radio we might not think about these details day to day, but it’s critically important for this to continue if the radio industry wants to compete in the evolving media landscape.

Read the story here

Broadcaster Dave Cronin hosted his last show on Beat 102 103 yesterday, after announcing he’s leaving the station.

Dave has been a presenter on Beat since 2012, and has hosted a number of shows on the station during that time. Most recently he’s been the presenter of Beat At Work, which is the stations mid morning show. He is also a continuity announcer for Virgin Media Television.

In really exciting news for Dave he’s now heading over to make his mark on the UK, which is a big step up from the humble south east of Ireland. it’s unclear if he will remain at VMTV, but his Instagram announcement only refers to Beat.

Very best of luck to Dave from us at Radio Land, hopefully we’ll be hearing you on a station in the UK really soon.

Read the story here

Ray Darcy is looking for a brand to go running with him.

Run With Ray is looking for a sponsor. This on air event encourages Radio 1 listeners to get out for a run which is great for people’s mental and physical health.

The sponsorship is over 6 weeks, with a week of outside broadcasts at the end where the show will hit the road to run with listeners across the country.

It’s not the only campaign like this on the Ray Darcy Radio Show as the programme usually acts as a companion to the popular operation transformation TV series. Operation transformation didn’t have a sponsor for its 2023 run, but it’s been a cash machine for RTÉ in the past. The department of health sponsored two past seasons of the show at a cost of €561,000. While this would be expected for an event across TV, Radio and Online, the run with Ray series will be much cheaper as it’s for the most part a radio only campaign.

RTE are looking for a fee of €25,000 to sponsor Run with Ray, which is a much lower bar to entry compared to a huge show like operation transformation. Full details of the sponsorship can be found below.

It’s great to see radio helping to try keep people healthy, the benefits of something like this are potentially huge, so hopefully we’ll see a brand support the initiative.

Get the details here

Quick Bits

Learning Waves is bringing back their Journalism graduate program for 2023

Tomás Mac Ruairí, secretary and broadcaster at Raidió na Life has passed away

The Dawn Chorus 2023 is airing next weekend

The Media Awards took place this week

Coimisiún na Meán is hiring new staff

Today FM are giving away a €1,000 pre paid credit card with thanks to virgin media

The final event for this years Irish Music Month has taken place

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.

Transparency

A previous version of this article had the wrong air date for the Dawn Chorus. This has now been fixed. Thanks to Brian Greene for flagging the mistake.

This Week In Radio 22/4/2023 (what a week for public service broadcasters)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s What Happened

After a bit of controversy which we discussed last week, Kevin Bakhurst has been appointed the next director General of RTÉ. After we published last weeks news stories, An Post boss David McRedmond ruled himself out of the running for the role.

There has been a lot written about Bakhurst since the announcement. He has previous experience in public service broadcasting having worked at high levels within both RTÉ and the BBC, and in more recent years he’s been working for the UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom.

“I’m delighted to welcome today’s announcement of the appointment of Kevin Bakhurst as the new Director General of RTÉ. The appointment follows a competitive recruitment process, with Kevin as the unanimous choice of the RTÉ Board. Kevin brings an exceptional breadth of industry experience, great leadership skills and a passionate commitment to the development of public service broadcasting in all its forms. Kevin’s appointment comes at time of opportunity and change for RTÉ. With my fellow Board members, I look forward to working with Kevin in our shared commitment to a thriving and financially sustainable RTÉ.”
Chairperson of RTÉ, Siún Ní Raghallaigh

It’s going to be interesting to see if RTE’s strategy will change significantly when Kevin starts his new role. Dee Forbes will finish in the job on the 11th of July.

Siún Ní Raghallaigh also spoke to the committee on tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport, and Media this week on a range of topics related to RTÉ. As part of this she spoke about the RTÉ board leaks.

Watch the proceedings here

Overall a very busy week for RTÉ. What happened this week will have a huge impact on the broadcasters future, so hopefully it all goes well.

Very best of luck to Kevin Bakhurst from us at Radio Land. You can read more about his appointment below.

Quick Bits

Carl Mullan and his wife Aisling are expecting their second child🎉

RTE broadcaster Sean O Tuairisg has passed away

Sound and vision round 49 is open

The Media Literacy Ireland Award winners have been announced

A writer at the Irish Times wasn’t a massive fan of The 2 Johnnies

Today FM’s Dave Moore has spoke about DIY

The Irish Pirate Radio Archive is heading to America

A trial date has been set for an Irish celebrity accused of defiling a child

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.

Transparency

The image on story three wasn’t displaying for people after publishing. This was very frustrating for your humble writer, but this issue has been fixed. An additional story was also added to Quick Bits, lucky you.

This Week In Radio 25/3/2023 (look who’s got new vehicles!!!)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s what happened

98FM have signed a new partnership with Toyota ireland to become the stations official car partner.

As part of the two year deal, Toyota Ireland have provided 98FM with three Toyota C-HR hybrid electric SUV’s which will be used by the stations Thunder Team, their name for the street fleet or promotions crew.

In return, Toyota will get a spot advertising campaign, weeklong promotions, weekend sponsorships as well as promotional stings accross the stations output.

Toyota have been on a role with media sponsorships recently, as they also secured The Graham Norton Show on Virgin Media. They seem to be looking for lighter entertainment sponsorships, so it would also make sense for them to snap up Claire Byrne’s new game show or even love Island.

It’s great to see sponsors putting money into quality media like this, so fair play to Toyota on supporting shows on Irish TV and radio.

Read the story here

Radio presenter Dave Duke this week joined the podcast universe. He announced the Dave Duke podcast which is available on all the main podcast platforms.

It’s not new to see established presenters with podcasts now, but it feels like the podcast train is moving even faster than before. Niall Boylan, Dave fanning, and Dave Duke have all announced podcasts recently despite being established names.

This week we wanted to see how you feel towards traditional radio, so we’re asking over on instagram. Is radio cool? Or have podcasts, social media, and internet radio made the traditional side of media less exciting?

Radio has traditionally had fancy studios and high production values, but in a world where anyone can start a station from home is all that still interesting to you? Share your thoughts over on Instagram.

Check out Dave Duke’s podcast announcement here

Finally this week we have a bit of a sad story but a story that ultimately shows how kind people are.

Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí, host of Rónán Beo on Raidió na Gaeltachta is sadly suffering from stage 4 Colon cancer with metastases to the liver and lung. He has been receiving treatment for this, but unfortunately these cancer treatments are hugely expensive.

This has led to a major fundraising effort being launched, with support coming from all over the world. Events were even held by the Irish American community in New York to support Rónán.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the fundraising. The goal was to raise €120,000, but at time of writing that has been well surpassed. The current total sits at €151,863 and it keeps on growing.

This really shows the generosity of people around the world. Sometimes we can be swamped with news of people doing bad stuff, but it’s also important to point out the good.

The very best of luck to Rónán and his family at this tough time.

Check out the GoFundMe here

Read the story about the events in New York here

Quick Bits

The Cash Machine has made its way to Red FM after Bauer bought the station

Radio presenter Claire Byrne is hosting a new game show called Ireland’s Smartest

An Irish celebrity who can’t be named for legal reasons has been sent forward for trial as a result of child defilement allegations

2FM breakfast host Carl Mullan has won Dancing with the stars

Bauer are launching a new audio platform called Rayo, but it’s not in ireland yet

The boss of Irelands Classic Hits isn’t happy with RTÉ Gold hiring people who could be on his stations

⁦‪@AoifeOC_‬⁩ oin Twitter has been asked to cover the Women’s Six Nations for Red FM and Newstalk

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.