2024 (latest listenership from JNLR

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

Here’s what happened

New JNLR numbers came out this week so let’s take a look and see how things are going for the countries main stations.

Skip the JNLR stuff by clicking here

RTE Radio 1

It was a mixed bag for radio 1 this time around, but things didn’t look great on weekdays for sure.

Morning Ireland took a dip in this book after a major jump last time. The show now has 469,000 listeners, down from 486,000 in the last book. That’s a drop of 17,000 which isn’t great, but it doesn’t undo its gains from last time so could be worse.
330,000 listen to The Oliver Callan Show. that’s a 13,000 drop, and the second drop in a row for the slot. I wouldn’t panic just yet, but definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Claire Byrne didn’t have any change this book and still has 341,000 tuning in.
It’s up 4,000 for Louise Duffy, who now has 218,000 listeners. She’s gained 1,000 in the passed 2 books, so the last 3 bring her up 6,000.
Bryan Dobson leaves the news at 1 with 301,000. That’s a 5,000 listener drop, but the show is still in a healthy place over 300,000. It will be interesting to see if Bryan’s retirement has much of an impact.
Joe dropped 2,000, and now sits level with news at 1 on 301,000
5,000 left Ray Darcy who now sits at 181,000. Rays show has traditionally benefited from the significant promotion of Operation Transformation, so time will tell if the show can find something else to attract an audience.
220,000 now listen to Drivetime which is down 1,000. Nothing too bad really.

This book looks rough for Radio 1 in parts although the weekend lineup did perform better. One needs to wonder if all the recent controversy has driven some listeners away, but there’s no way of saying that definitively.

No need to panic yet, but certainly could have gone better.

RTE 2FM

Tracey holding up the fort nicely here, with the 2 Johnnies and Game On also getting a boost.

Ahead of the big shake up, 2FM Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha, and Carl has 143,000 listeners. That’s down 3,000. The show has lost 6,000 in the past 2 books combined but the show has had an incredible run overall. It’s going to be very interesting to see what RTE do in the breakfast slot here.
Jennifer Zamparelli is down 1,000 and now sits at 135,000. Still a very respectable number.
Tracy Clifford is a highlight for 2FM this book, up 8,000 to 121,000
The 2 johnnies continue a great run on the station adding 1,000 to sit at 151,000. That’s a good number.
Interestingly, Game on is up 5,000 listeners and now has 37,000 each evening.

Overall it’s an okay book for the station. Some small losses are mostly offset with some nice gains. Definitely could be worse.

Today FM

There’s no other way to say it. This wasn’t a great book for Today FM.

216,000 tune in to Ian Dempsey, that’s a drop of 12,000.
228,000 tune in to Dave Moore, based on Bauers numbers that’s a drop of 2,000.
Louise Cantillon is down 1,000 and now sits at 139,000. Still a good performance though.
161,000 tune in to Ray Foely that’s down 2,000
Matt Cooper completes the schedule with 181,000. That’s down 5,000, meaning Bauer lost listeners for all daytime shows.

Things really could be better for Today FM, but this is the first bump in a series of good books. Is the appeal of the cash machine decreasing? We’ll need to wait and see.

Newstalk

Things were a bit better over on Newstalk with some nice listenership gains in the morning at least.

157,000 listen to Newstalk breakfast, a really nice increase of 8,000.
13,000 extra listeners tune in to pat Kenny, who now has 229,000.
Lunchtime Live moves from 113,000 to 118,000 this book for a jump of 5,000. Can’t really complain about that.
Moncrieff is down 11,000 landing at 104,000. Could be worse, but certainly not great in an otherwise good book.
147,000 tuning in to the Hard shoulder. The numbers here were a mess last time, but appear to be down 6,000.

Bauer will definitely be happy with the first half of the day here. Second half could have gone better, but it’s not a disaster either.

Overall

As always a mixed bag, but no disasters. You learn quick enough that individual books aren’t important. Trends are what really matter, and there’s nothing concerning here for now at least.

Check out coverage from other sites below.

Radio Today

AdWorld

Independent

In other news

It will come as no surprise to anyone that RTEs reputation has been badly damaged, but just how bad is it?

In a study exploring the attitudes to 100 companies and agencies by Irish consumers, RTE ranked 99th marking the biggest fall of any organisation.

The only brand with a worse reputation was Elon Musk owned social media platform X which came in the 100th slot. RTE has dropped from 67th place in 2010, so it just goes to show the true scale of the damage.

In terms of the top 3 this year, that went to credit unions, Lidl, and Boots, with An Post ranking highest on average over the past 15 years. The highest scoring media brand was the Irish Times, which came in at 53 on the list.

RTE is going to have a tough job rebuilding their reputation, and it’s going to take a lot from both the broadcaster and the government. They seem to be on a strategy of avoiding risks right now, as their controversial health event Operation Transformation was ditched this week despite high engagement. RTE share rights to that show in the international market too, so it seems they are willing to make hard decisions to try satisfy the audience.

Things like the licence fee will likely be a roadblock to improving reputation, but time will tell if they can pull it off.

Quick Bits

There’s a rumour that 2FM could swap the 2 Johnnies to the 9AM slot

2FM gave away €5,000 with the Autotune Fortune this week

Pat Kenny’s media company made a profit of €99,415 last year

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 (new year, new shows, new sponsors)

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

Here’s What Happened

Broadcaster Ryan Tubridy started his new show on Virgin Radio this week, with the show simulcast on Dublin’s Q102. His new Irish weekend Show starts tomorrow and will air between 10:00 and 12:00 across Wireless group stations. live 95, 96FM, Q102 and LmFM

The weekday show has already secured a UK sponsor, with Paddy Power coming on board for a year. Paddy Power himself announced the deal as a guest on the show. financial terms were not disclosed.

It seems Irish audiences were excited and curious to listen to Tubridy again, with apps for both Virgin Radio and Q102 hitting the top 5 in the Irish Apple App Store charts on launch day. JNLR and RAJAR numbers will tell how the show ultimately performs, but things look to be off to a good start.

Kevin Brannigan (boss at Irelands Classic Hits Radio), said he did not believe it was appropriate for a UK programme to be broadcast on Irish radio. Kevin previously offered to hire Ryan, and his station airs the uk produced Kim Wild 80s Show. While Kevin’s point is understandable it was interesting to see him making it.

Overall it seemed to be a positive launch for Ryan. Big presenters like Corks Derry O Callaghan are having shows cut in length tomorrow, and some of those shows have pre-existing sponsors too. It’s an interesting situation and it will be fun to listen to.

Let us know what you thought of the show over on social media. Just search Radio Land Ireland

Read the story here

Virgin Radio wasn’t the only station signing new sponsors this week, as RTE signed a deal with Cash & Carry Kitchens who will become the Sponsor of Today With Claire Byrne for the next year.

It’s unclear what was paid for the sponsorship, but the one year package had previously been advertised at a cost of €350,000

“We are delighted to be involved with the broadcast sponsorship of Claire Byrne on Radio 1. This partnership aligns seamlessly with Cash & Carry Kitchens, offering an opportunity to boost brand awareness and engage consumers through Claire Byrne’s widely popular radio show.
Alan Morris, Head of Marketing at Cash & Carry Kitchens

Rte are under serious financial pressure, so every partnership like this helps. Who knows what other sponsorships we’ll see this year, but it’s clear RTE and Virgin Radio are off to a good start.

Read the story here

What were the most played songs on Irish radio in 2023? Research from campaign group Why Not Her reveals the answer.

We’ve covered the Why Not Her campaign a lot in the past, and you can read their statement on the findings at the link below. For now, let’s look at what we listened to on radio in 2023.

The top 5 songs played on Irish radio were:

Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Niall Horan – “Heaven”
Calvin Harris – “Miracle”
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”

As for the top Irish artists being played, we had:

Niall Horan – “Heaven”
Jazzy – “Giving Me”
Cian Ducrot – “Heaven”
Cian Ducrot- “I’ll Be Waiting”
Dermot Kennedy – “Kiss me”

Big year for Cian Ducrot clearly. Well done to everyone who made the list. Hopefully we’ll see more quality Irish artists rise to the top in 2024.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

The team at WLR raised €100,000 for charity in their Christmas appeal

Classic Hits 80s has returned to FM

Brian Greene is leaving Phoenix FM

How will radio evolve in 2024

In a now deleted tweet, Joe Duffy took a dig at Bauers Cash Machine

I'm baffled - for at least a year - about the @bauermediaIRL@bauermedia #cashcall so called competition on your 15 Irish radio stations. What are the odds.? How many entries? If you claim to have given out €5m in prizes?
How much was gambled?
@cormacbourke @declynchwriter — Joe’s deleted Cash Machine Tweet

This Week In Radio 14/10/2023 (it’s a disastrous situation at RTE)

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

Here’s What Happened

RTE is on the verge of running out of money, with Kevin Bakhurst saying the broadcaster would be insolvent by spring if it doesn’t get a cash injection from the government.

RTE can’t afford redundancy payments to reduce the staff count, and the government are holding off on a €40 million funding provision recommended by New Era.

Kevin Bakhurst has spoken of good commercial performance, but the huge drop in licence fee revenue means that RTE is now in a bit of a disastrous situation.

Rte has tried to diversify its income in recent years, but it’s had mixed fortunes. commercial venture GAA Go looks to have performed well and will provide much needed funds for the broadcaster, but ventures like Toy Show The Musical have been far less successful. No matter how successful RTE is commercially, there isn’t going to be nearly enough cash to cover the drop in licence fee revenue.

Kevin Bakhurst is really in an awful position as RTE needs drastic changes, but the money isn’t there to do what’s needed.

Time will tell how everything plays out, but it’s not looking good for the future of Public Service Broadcasting.

Read the story here

98FM are taking their listeners to the zoo.

The Wild Lights Christmas instalation is back at Dublin Zoo this year, and 98FM are holding a listener night allowing people to check out all the fancy Christmas lights before anyone else.

Events like this have great value for broadcasters as they tick so many boxes. You can give tickets away on air and online, you can treat your staff, and invites are also often given to ad agencies to keep the ad buyers happy.

Lots of these events were stopped during the pandemic, so it’s cool to see them up and running again. You can apply for 98FMs listener night tickets on the station website now.

Read the story here

Freedom FM is hosting outside broadcasts with its own branded vehicles and everything.

What started as a simple online station has really grown into a big operation with a yearly temporary licence, filled with live programming and outside broadcasts. The station was live from Rascals Pizza Restaurant this week, and is currently broadcasting on FM across much of Ireland.

It’s impressive to see an internet station reach such a scale. It seems blending a good format, strong online presence, and consistent quality output on a temporary service can be a winning formula for stations.

We’ve seen 8Radio, Christmas FM, and freedom build strong online audiences through temporary licences, and we’re seeing commercial operators like Classic Hits Radio try replicate that success. It’s fascinating to watch this blending of online and traditional terrestrial broadcasting.

Freedom FM in particular have come a huge way in such a short period of time.

Fair play to everyone involved and best wishes for the future.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

Here’s an immensely detailed analysis of the people appearing on Brendan O Connor’s Newspaper Pannel

The trial of an Irish celebrity accused of the defilement of a child has been taking place this week. He cannot be named for legal reasons

⁨Coimisiún na Meán⁩ are getting a fancy new office that can accommodate 200 people

The irish Pirate Radio archive have called for a dedicated broadcasting audio Archive & repository for donations

This Week In Radio 23/9/2023 (you better get good at Gaeilge)

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

Here’s What Happened

Going forward commercial stations renewing their licenses will need to agree to more Irish language, programming, following a decision made by ⁨Coimisiún na Meán⁩ in July.

The Irish times report that when agreeing new licence terms for Galway Bay FM, the board of the regulator introduced two new conditions. “ a requirement to review and update Irish language programme commitments, and that the station collect data and, on request, report to the commission about their performance on the Irish language, media literacy and sustainability.”.

This comes ahead of an expected review of Irish language services to be carried out by ⁨Coimisiún na Meán⁩ in 2024. We don’t know the full scope of this review, but ⁨the regulator seem to be pushing forward with a plan to get more Irish language content on air.

It’s been a relatively good time for Irish media recently following the launch of a new dedicated kids TV channel broadcasting in the Irish language. Recent rule changes have led to more Irish advertising, and we’ve also heard rumblings of a new Irish language youth music service.

2023 has been a big year for Irish, and it’s looking like there are plenty more changes to come.

Read the story hear

I haven’t even started my Christmas shopping yet, but we got another sign this week that the festive period is just around the corner.

2FM are looking for a brand to sponsor the sound of Christmas, with a 10 second sting before each Christmas song played on the station this December. It’s the first time this deal has been on the market in 4 years, so demand will probably be high for such an important advertising opportunity.

The sound of Christmas will kick off on Friday December 1st, with 12 songs played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From Monday 4th 24 songs will be played in total each day that’s a total of 2 per hour. This will basically continue until Christmas Eve.

If you want a slice of the Christmas pudding that will set you back a cool €60,000. It sounds pricey, but 540 highly prominent stings is a big deal right before Santa comes. Exciting stuff kids, 93 sleeps to go.🎄

We’ve seen the Christmas ad opportunities for the toy show and Christmas RTE Guide hit the market too, so even if you feel it’s too early, reality tells us it’s nearly time. So, stop being a grinch.

Read the festive story here, and you might make the nice list

Unfortunately we’re ending on a sad note this week. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta presenter Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí has passed away at the age of just 53.

The presenter hosted many shows on both TV and Radio over the course of his career, but was probably best known for Rónán Beo on RnaG which started in 2006. He was a well respected name in Gaeltacht communities.

He was sadly diagnosed with cancer a number of years ago, and he went through many rounds of chemotherapy as well as 2 surgeries. You might remember we covered a fundraiser for Rónán earlier this year which raised over €171,000 for further treatment.

He’s a voice that will certainly be missed by many, with tributes being paid by everyone from Kevin Bakhurst to Michael D. Higgins.

You can read some of the tributes in the journal article linked below.

May he rest in peace.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

The guards are reportedly investigating following an interview with Sean Quinn on Newstalk

Belfast live are reporting on a poem read on RedFM

Graham Norton has said Gay Byrne was an inspiration

Rte aren’t handing over the former DG’s contract to committees as she has a right to confidentiality

Christmas FM will be back on November 28th

This Week In Radio 10/12/2022 (the end of Irelands biggest music show)

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

Here’s What Happened

He’s been hosting the show for as long as I’ve been alive, and indeed much longer, but it’s time for Ronan Collins to leave his daily show on RTE Radio 1.

Ronan announced that he will host his final edition of the Ronan Collins Show on the 23rd of December. From January onwards, he will be hosting on Bank Holiday Mondays only.

With 232,000 listeners, Ronan’s show was the most listened to music show in the country. Whoever takes over the show is going to have very big shoes to fill.

“I’ve been working on afternoon radio on RTÉ Radio 1 for nearly 38 years, plus six years before that on Radio 2, and nobody will ever know how grateful I have been for all the opportunities over the past 40 years and going forward with RTÉ. I often ask myself ‘how much longer can I continue to do this?,’ and the answer always is ‘just keep going.’ New challenges await now on RTÉ in 2023, and I will continue to be on RTÉ Radio 1 with The Collins Collection on Bank Holidays.”
Ronan announcing the end of his show

It will be interesting to see who takes over, with an announcement on this expected in the coming days. both Louise Duffy and Ray Cuddihy have filled in on the show in recent times, so might they be the next big names on Radio 1? We’ll need to wait and see.

Best of luck to Ronan on his future career, and congratulations on playing such a huge role in Irish radio history.

And that’s what I get for trying to be organised!!!

So, I had everything written all ready to go, and then RTÉ drop a bombshell. When they said the replacement would be announced in the coming days, I didn’t think they meant tomorrow. Anyway, we now have our replacement.

Louise Duffy will take over in the slot from January, after previously filling in for Ronan. She’s also covered other shows on the station, and has 8 years on Today FM behind her too.

It will be great to hear how the new show sounds in January, and we wish Louise the very best of luck.

Read the story here

An Irish language community station in Belfast is considering the possibility of launching a service on a small scale DAB Multiplex in Derry.

Raidió Fáilte have held a meeting with the local community to explore the possibility, and discuss what people from Derry would like from the service.

We don’t know the outcome of the meeting, but this might be an interesting one to watch over the next few months.

It’s also interesting to see DAB used in this way, especially when you consider that we never really went down this road in the republic. Would you like to see DAB in Ireland? Or would it be too big a risk for the existing radio industry? Vote on our Instagram story now.

Read the story here

Finally just an explainer of how I plan to work stuff on Radio land over Christmas.

For the first time in 2years, I’m going taking some weeks off. Don’t worry though, I’m not doing a full Ronan Collins just yet.

Next Saturday the 17th I’ll take a look back at this years biggest radio stories, and then after that I’m taking a 2 week break. All normal programming will be back in January though.

Thank you all for supporting Radio Land over the past year. Do follow our social media for updates when we return.

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Quick Bits

The Irish Times have taken a look back at this year in radio

Opinions Matter has signed a new distribution contract with GoLoud

Ian Dempsey has got an end of year poll

Fyona Smith has started her job as managing Editor at Today FM

Radio Nova’s Clint Drieberg is now an Irish citizen

An Irish rapper has made a prestigious BBC radio 1 long list

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.