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This week in radio 11/2/2023 (JNLR and jingles, it’s like a radio lovers dream)

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

RTE radio 1 logo

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 logo

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

Today FM

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

Newstalk Logo

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.

The Irish Times

Adworld

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

Tipp FM Logo

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.

Read the story here

Marty standing holding a Lyric FM sign with a Spry Finance staff member

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.

Read the story here

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.

This Week In Radio 4/2/2023 (more spin off stations)

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

Here’s what happened

Presenter Ed Smith standing next to the Today FM Rocks logo

Are you a fan of rock music? Today FM have launched a new rock show and rock station.

Ed Smith will host the show every Sunday from 10pm through to midnight, while the Today FM Rocks channel is available 24/7 on the GoLoud app.

Outside of the main station, Today FM now has 6 spin off channels. Today FM 80s, 90s, ,00s, Irish, Block Rockin Beats, and rocks. It would be cool to know if these spin offs make much money, or how are they viewed as part of the business.

It certainly seems to be a trend to have spin off brands, and they are being pushed more and more. We recently had Classic Hits 80s on FM, so perhaps this is an area the industry plans to develop over the next few years. We’ll need to wait and see.

An interesting space and perhaps an area worth keeping an eye on.

Read the story here

2FM Breakfast team

2FM Breakfast presenter Carl Mullen has spoken about how he feels nervous ahead of the JNLR’s. The next book is just 2 weeks away, so the breakfast show will be hoping to continue its streak of strong performances.

It’s always interesting to see the jNLR’s as it can be tough to predict a shows performance. we spoke last week about the advertising spend in radio, but it’s the numbers that decide how that money gets spent.

So, with new numbers just around the corner, this week we’re asking those of you in the industry what’s more stressful. The JNLR’s or the leaving cert? Vote over on our Instagram story now.

Read the story here

Radio Days Ireland 2023 banner

Finally this week, the Lineup for RadioDays Ireland has been announced. the event takes place at the Gibson Hotel on the 16th and 17th of February.

The events main sponsors are Learning Waves and the IBI, but other partners include the BAI, Skillnet, and IMRO.

So, who’s speaking at the event? Here are just a few of the speakers.

  • Pat Kenny, Newstalk, Patricia Messenger, C103, Fionnuala Corbett, iRadio, Brian Redmond, KCLR 96FM, Celene Craig, BAI, and Dan Healy, RTE 2FM, will present a panel on the resilience of radio.
  • Niall Power from Beat 102 103 will speak about the worlds 10 best radio promotions.
  • There will be a presentation on how you can monetize podcasts from Liam Thompson, The Smart 7 Podcast, Georgie Crawford, The Good Glow Podcast, Kiela Brodigan, Director of Digital, Bauer Media
  • There will also be loads of other presentations on how to better target and monetize listeners, as well as speakers on different topics from the USA and UK.

The event seems to be focused more on the business side of radio, so if that’s your thing you might enjoy it. It also serves as a networking opportunity which is always good.

Check out the details here

Quick Bits

Radio Land’s Twitter surpassed 100 followers this week. Thanks for the support🎉

Today With Claire Byrne has secured an 11 month sponsorship deal with Allcare Pharmacy

The Irish Times have a review of an Irish horror podcast

RTE celebrates Brendan Behan’s 100th birthday

Bauer are having a weekend of winning accross their network of stations. it’s a premium rate text 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.

This week in Radio 28/1/2023 (how much money does the radio industry make exactly?)

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

Here’s what happened

Radiocentre Ireland logo

Let’s talk about advertising. Advertising pays the bills in radio a lot of the time, so it’s important to keep an eye on what’s going on in that market. The good news is Radio ad spend was up in 2022, so things are going relatively well.

Spend on radio ads was up 9%, but it’s important to remember we were stuck in a pandemic in 2021. As a result we can assume this is more of a correction than major growth, but still, it’s good to see.

  • A total of €158.1 million was spent on radio ads in 2022, that’s up 9%
  • We had a 20% boost in spend from retail. Every little helps and all that.
  • Ads from the finance category were up 11%. It will be interesting to see what happens in this sector for 2023, with banks closing, will ad spend go down?
  • Then we had the return of the industry’s that got hit during the pandemic. entertainment and media was up 53%, and travel made a great comeback, going up 54%.

It’s great to see things getting back to some level of normality, well, normality within reason. Trends have continued to shift, and ad spend on digital audio is continuing to grow at great pace.

  • €125.6m came from traditional spot revenue, up 7%
  • €27.1 million came from sponsorships and all those kinds of partnerships. OB’s etc
  • And digital continues to grow hitting €5.4 million. These numbers don’t include big audio streamers, but it’s good to see this number growing.

That digital revenue needs to grow in the industry going forward, so let’s hope 2023 sees digital services taken more seriously. all the big brands have quality apps now, so 2023 is the time to use them.

It’s fascinating to look at who’s spending ad money and how. Radio looks to be in a good place, so let’s hope these trends keep going.

Read the story here

Life pharmacy team at Today FM

As we just saw, sponsorship has a huge part to play in the radio industry, and some stations are already off to a strong start for 2023.

Life pharmacy are the new sponsors for Matt Cooper’s the Last Word on Today FM. The deal includes stings and promotions to help promote the 95 pharmacies across Ireland.

meanwhile, Supervalue Insurance have teamed up with 2FM to sponsor Drive It with the 2 Johnnies. We don’t have much detail about the deal but it’s great to see.

It’s deals like this help keep media going, so hopefully the sponsors want to invest more in radio over the next year.

Read more on the Today FM deal here

Check out the tweet from RTÉ Media Sales here

Christmas FM team standing holding a check in front of a broadcasting authority of ireland sign

Finally this week, a big congratulations to the team at Christmas FM for another successful year.

The team have a target of raising €1 million over the next 3 years as part of their magic of Christmas campaign. The campaign is a departure from the station’s traditional model of having a single charity partner each year. So what was raised in 2022?

A total of €294,706 was raised which is a massive achievement. Hopefully this will go towards helping those in need over the next year.

Very well done to everyone involved, and best wishes going forward.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

Dee Forbes has said credible media may die out if the government don’t reform the funding model

Did you know that 20% of ads from government agencies must now be in Irish?

Its4Women have been announced as Today FM’s traffic sponsor

RTE are adding to their collection of sports podcasts with a new running podcast

RTE have a problem with rats in the canteen

The head of the BBC has spoken about the cuts at BBC NI

Corks Red FM are hosting transition year students thanks to funding from the BAI

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.

This Week In Radio 21/1/2023 (big money ads, the future of RTÉ, and the battle of the radio news sites)

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

Here’s What Happened

Radio Nova Logo

Radio Nova are planning to spend €250,000 on an advertising campaign this year. That’s no small amount of money.

The campaign will focus on promoting the stations Morning Glory breakfast show, hosted by PJ and Jim. Between cinima ads, outdoor elements, and even tv spots, this is set to be a huge campaign especially when you consider that Nova is for the most part just a Dublin station.

Radio Nova campaign poster
You might be seeing something like this around Dublin over the next few months.

“We’ve planned a consistent, always-on, campaign that will run throughout 2023, showcasing ‘Morning Glory with PJ & Jim’ across multiple formats throughout Dublin city, county and commuter belt. The show is the embodiment of what Radio Nova represents – fun, relatability, irreverence and chockablock with Nova’s trademark seriously addictive music. It’s a show like no other and you’d want to be a stone to not find yourself experiencing belly laughs throughout the morning.”

Nova CEO Kevin Branigan, source Radio Today

Radio Nova make no secret of their ambition to go national, so will this boost the audience enough to make the Media Commission take note? We’ll need to wait and see, but it’s certainly a large campaign so Nova will really be hoping for a return on investment here.

Read the story here

RTE logo

RTE director of strategy Rory Coveney has said that some form of household charge decoupled from TV ownership should be introduced to sustain the broadcast sector.

The government didn’t agree to the future of media commissions recommendation to fund RTÉ through exchequer funding, but RTÉ say the current system is not working, costing them approximately €65 million per year.

How to fund public service broadcasting is always going to be a tough question to answer, but how do you think it should work? Go let us know over on our Twitter.

There has been a lot of chat about the future of media this week as all the main broadcasters were asked questions by a committee on the subject. We won’t be able to cover everything, but there has been great coverage from a number of services over the past few days. If this interests you, I’d recomend taking a look.

Read the story here

Radio Today Logo
Adding this logo feels in some way sacrilegious

Finally this week, Radio Today looks, different.

Radio Today, which for the avoidance of doubt has nothing to do with us at Radio Land, introduced a new simplified website design this week. The site still has all the same articles in a similar style to before, but everything now has a more streamlined design.

In fairness to the team over there they have done a great job, so we’ll say well done through gritted teeth.

So, for the laugh, which radio news site has the best looking website? Do you prefer the beautiful blue tint of Radio Land, or that fresh green logo of Radio Today? Go vote on our Instagram story now.

Check out the Radio Today website here

Check out our Instagram

Quick Bits

An action plan for the implementation of the future of media report was published this week

Louise Duffy needs a sponsor

The 2FM 2023 Rising List has been announced

Dermot Whelan has spoke about losing his mom to dementia

The commissioners for the new Media Commission have been announced

The Irish sponsorship market is set to grow by 9% this year

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.

This Week In Radio 14/1/2023 (have you heard the ads?)

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

Here’s What Happened

Irish RadioPlayer Logo

RadioCentre Ireland have launched a new ad campaign to promote the RadioPlayer App. the ad is the first of many for Radio Centre in 2023, with the campaign being developed by agency Boys + Girls.

The ad itself was created by audio design company folding waves, and is basically made up of audio clips from different radio stations, that when edited together can describe the RadioPlayer app. It’s all edited nicely as if someone was flicking through radio stations on the FM band.

It’s interesting to see the industry promoting RadioPlayer now when most of the main companies have already built their own audio platforms, but I guess anything that pushes radios digital transition forward is a good thing.

What do you think of the Irish RadioPlayer? Have you ever used it? Let us know on our Instagram story now.

Read the story and hear the ad here

2FM sponsorship poster

RTE are trying to find a new sponsor for Drivetime time checks. So let’s take a look at what you get and how much it costs.

The spots air 6 times a day, informing the listener of the time at both Breakfast and Drive. This slot has a history of large brand attachments, with the likes of Centra and ExpressWay as previous sponsors. But how much will it cost? Well…

  • 3 months come in at a cost of €50,000
  • You can be shouting the time for 6 months for just €85,000
  • And if you want the full year it will cost you €140,000

Obviously an expensive partnership, but one that might be worth it for a brand trying to reach younger audiences.

It’s always interesting to see how much these deals can cost, so hopefully we’ll see more sponsorship ads like this throughout the year.

Read more details here

Dermot Whelan

Finally this week, radio presenter Dermot Whelan is going on tour with a new show to help people take care of their mind. Dermot turned to mindfulness after experiencing a panic attack a number of years ago, and now he’s teaching some of the science behind that as part of a stand up comedy show.

Mindfulness is one of these things people either love or hate, but it’s really cool to see a radio presenter creating a stage show that’s trying to do good

Dermot has spoken about his experience in the article linked below. If mindfulness is for you it might be of interest.

Best of luck to Dermot on the new show from us at Radio Land

Read the story here

Quick Bits

Michaela Hayes is taking over daytimes on Spin

Limerick City community radio is back for another 100 days

Corks Red FM is celebrating 21 years on air

RnaG has a new series on the way about the Irish State

Mairead Ronan is starting a new podcast with Jenny Kelly

Applications for Irish Music month have started showing up ahead of March

A radio presenter from Northern Ireland is taking over hosting Countdown on Channel 4

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.