– RTÉ Radio 1 remains the only radio service with a weekly reach of over +1 million **, increasing by +2,000 YoY 
– RTÉ 2FM has a weekly reach figure of 762,000 of adults 15+, increasing by + 35,000 YoY 
– RTÉ lyric fm has 314,000 listeners on a weekly basis, increasing by +1,000 YoY

The latest JNLR listenership figures show that RTÉ’s radio services reach over 2 million adults* or 47% of the adult population every week, with RTÉ  holding 17 of the top 20 radio programmes in Ireland.

Speaking on the latest figures, Patricia Monahan, Director of Audio, RTÉ said: “We are very proud that more than 2 million people choose to engage with our stations every week underlining again the important role public service media plays in Irish life. RTÉ broadcasts 17 of the top 20 radio programmes in Ireland across a wide variety of genres including News and Current Affairs, Music and Entertainment, and Sport.

RTÉ Radio 1 remains the only station with a weekly reach of over 1 million listeners, with gains of 2,000 listeners year-on-year. RTÉ 2FM has a weekly reach of 762,000, an increase of 35,000 year-on-year, and RTÉ lyric fm now reaches 314,000 listeners every week. As we head into a General Election campaign, our focus will continue to be on delivering trusted information and engaging content and to reflect the experiences of audiences across Ireland.”

RTÉ Radio 1  
RTÉ Radio 1 reaches 891,000 listeners on a weekday (+11,000) YoY.

• Morning Ireland remains Ireland’s most listened to radio programme with 465,000 listeners this book (+2,000 YoY).

• Oliver Callan airing 9-10am Monday-Friday has 338,000 listeners each day (+2,000 BoB).

• Today with Claire Byrne – the second most listened to programme in the country – has 342,000 listeners tuning in every weekday from 10am-12noon (+11,000 YoY).

• The Louise Duffy Show  has 223,000 listeners (+2,000 BoB, and +10,000 YoY ) tuning in for great music.

• Brendan O’Connor on Saturday has 342,000 listeners (+7,000 YoY), with 339,000 listeners tuning in on Sunday (+16,000 YoY).

• News at One has 302,000 listeners (+7,000 BoB)

• Liveline with Joe Duffy has a listenership of 307,000 (+5,000 BoB).

• The Ray D’Arcy Show weekday afternoons on RTÉ Radio 1 has 188,000 listeners (+1,000 YoY).

• Drivetime has 221,000 listeners tuning in each evening (+2,000 YoY)

• Countrywide has had an increase of 48,000 YoY, with 261,000 listeners.

• Playback on Saturday has 318,000 listeners (+2,000 YoY).
• The Business on Saturday mornings has 337,000 listeners (+6,000 BoB and + 43,000 YoY).
• Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin has 224,000 listeners (+8,000 BoB).
• Saturday Sport/Doc On One from 2-6pm on RTÉ Radio 1 has 228,000 listeners (+2,000 BoB, +48,000 YoY) and Sunday Sport has 204,000 listeners (+1,000 BoB).
• Sunday Miscellany has 271,000 listeners.
• Sunday with Miriam has 300,000 listeners (+28,000 YoY).
• This Week has 188,000 listeners on Sunday (+20,000 YoY)

• Arena has 49,000 listeners every weekday (+8,000 BoB).

• The John Creedon Show has 59,000 listeners on weeknights (+3,000 BoB).

Peter Woods, Head of RTÉ Radio 1 said: “This is a solid book that consolidates and builds on the gains made by Radio 1, and is particularly heartening for Oliver Callan, who is less than 12 months in that slot and backed by a great team. We remain strong across the day and through the weekends for listeners, with Current Affairs, Music and Arts programmes all performing. John Creedon’s show is just short of 60 thousand listeners now, which is a remarkable achievement. We look forward now to bringing our listeners extensive coverage of the General Election.”

RTÉ 2FM   

• 2FM Breakfast has 142,000 listeners tuning in on weekday mornings

• Laura Fox on 2FM has 133,000 listeners to her 9-12pm show

• Tracy Clifford has 119,000 listeners enjoying great music each lunchtime (+6,000 YoY).

• 2FM Drive continues to entertain listeners across the country in the afternoons with 145,000 listeners

• Game On has 47,000 listeners tuning in weeknights (+5,000 BoB)

• 2FM Breakfast with Bláthanid Treacy on Saturdays has 67,000 listeners (+10,000 BoB), and Sunday 42,000 (+5, 000 BoB).

• Weekend Mornings on 2FM from 9am-12noon has 153,000 listeners on Saturdays (+17,000 BoB) and 137,000 on Sunday (+9,000 BoB).

• Roz and Emma on 2FM  from 12-3pm have 128,000 listeners on Saturdays (+5,000 YoY) and 109,000 listeners on Sundays (+11,000 BoB).

Dan Healy, Head of RTÉ 2FM, said:“The 2FM team, both on and off air, have done extremely well to stabilise the 15 to 34 audience Monday to Friday and to keep weekend programming strong. 2FM has always been a platform for creating and developing new presenters. During the summer we asked for expressions of interest in presenting on 2FM. We received hundreds of applications. Unsurprisingly, the talent in Ireland is phenomenal and the interest in presenting radio shows was huge. Over six days we met many of the applicants, many of whom have been piloting shows. We have been working hard on the new schedule and over the next while we will be unveiling our line-up full of gifted radio presenters who we are confident will meet the needs of young audiences in Ireland.” 

RTÉ lyric fm   

• Marty in the Morning has 68,000 listeners (+1,000 BoB) tuning in every weekday morning.

• Aedín Gormley’s Movies and Musicals every Saturday afternoon has 54,000 listeners

• Sunday Afternoon with Simon Delaney has 62,000 listeners (+2,000 BoB).

• Niall Carroll’s Classical Drivetime has 46,000 listeners

• Liz Nolan’s The Full Score/ Aedín in the Afternoon (Friday) have 48,000 listeners

• Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive takes 50,000 listeners into the evening each weekday.

• The Mystery Train with John Kelly (Mon-Thurs)/ RTÉ lyric Live with Paul Herriott (Friday) has 27,000 listeners (+7,000 YoY)

• Evonne Ferguson’s Daybreak has 46,000 listeners (+3,000 BoB) on Saturday mornings.

• The Hamilton Scores with George Hamilton has 46,000 listeners on Saturdays and 54,000(+2,000 BoB) on Sundays.

Sinéad Wylde, Head of RTÉ lyric fm, said: “Marty in the Morning with Marty Whelan is RTÉ lyric fm’s most popular show which continues to grow, bringing our audience a lighter listen and setting the mood for the day with a gorgeous mix of music, chat and humour. Sundays performed particularly well for RTÉ lyric in this book with good gains from early morning on Vox Nostra with Vlad Smishkewych up 5,000 listeners, George Hamilton’s The Hamilton Scores gained 2,000 listeners, Vespertine with Ellen Cranitch on Sunday nights gained 5,000 listeners and one of the newest shows, Sunday Afternoon with Simon Delaney, has grown to 62,000 listeners. Ambient Orbit, a new addition in recent years has increased by 6,000 new listeners highlighting the fact that our listeners really do come to RTÉ lyric to unwind, reset and escape the noise of everyday life”. 

 -ENDS-
Date: Thursday 7th November 2024

Further information: 
Maureen Catterson, RTÉ Communications Manager
Jennifer O’Brien, RTÉ Communications

Notes to editor:  
* 2,028,000 Adults 15+
** 1,384,000 Adults 15+
In sourcing the current dataset (covering the period Oct 2023 – Sept 2024), and relevant comparable periods, the following wording should be used:

Book-on-Book (BoB) = Source: JNLR/ Ipsos MRBI 2024-3 vs. 2024-2.
Year-on-year (YoY) = Source: JNLR/Ipsos MRBI 2024-3 vs. 2023-3.
Timeblock Reach for National Commercial Stations October 2023 – September 2024
Top 20 All Week National Radio Programmes – Adults 15+