RTÉ 2FM manager Dan Healy insists the recent changes to the station are “fully justified” as the latest listening figures show a rise in listener numbers for Laura Fox’s new weekend show.
The presenter took over from Louise McSharry on the weekend from 9am-11am. The number of listeners has subsequently grown by 8,000 on Saturday and 11,000 on Sunday.
Ms McSharry was dropped from the station in October 2021 after 11 years. She said she was unhappy that she couldn’t present her last two shows and say goodbye to listeners.
Figures released as part of the Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) show that the majority of RTÉ Radio 1’s weekday shows have increased listener numbers, while the big win for its sister station, 2FM, is with The breakfast show that’s an increase from 9,000 listeners to 123,000.
It’s not all good news for the station, though, because The Jennifer Zamparelli Show is down 3,000 listeners, while Tracy Clifford’s show is also down 3,000.
Bauer Media’s Today FM is celebrating after gaining a 9.2 pc market share, the highest in more than a decade. This compares with RTÉ’s 2FM at 5.8 pc.
Earlier this year, Today FM added an extra hour to Ian Dempsey’s Breakfast Showincreasing the number of listeners by 15,000 to 201,000.
The Jennifer Zamparelli Show has dropped by 3,000 listeners. Photo: David Conachy
The Ray Foley show has gained 6,000 listeners, The last word with Matt Cooper has risen 3,000 while Dermot and Dave has seen a 3,000 drop, bringing it to 203,000.
Morning Ireland on Radio 1 remains the most popular show nationally, as the number of listeners has increased to 473,000, up from 8,000 listeners.
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Today with Claire Byrne has similarly seen an increase in its audience by 8,000, now with a listenership of 350,000, with Driving time also gaining 1,000 listeners.
live line has seen a decline, with Joe Duffy’s program losing 3,000 listeners.
Playhosted by Sinéad Mooney, has seen the station’s biggest increase, reaching 32,000 listeners.
Over the weekend, while Brendan O’Connor’s Saturday show has seen a 7,000 listener drop, his Sunday show is up 4,000.
And Sunday with Miriam gained 11,000, while 339,000 listeners join in every Sunday morning.
Bauer Media’s Newstalk celebrates its breakfast show with 5,000 listeners to 146,000, The Pat Kenny Show has fallen by 2,000, Lunchtime Live has fallen by 3,000 and The hard shoulder remains the same at 155,000.
Dan Healy of RTÉ 2FM said he is happy with the number of listeners and that the “two big risks” he took to shake up the station paid off.
“Of course we had to change something last year with Breakfast,” he told Independent.ie. “We went with Donnacha, Doireann and Carl and The breakfast show has flown. This better reflects that as they have been on the air since May of last year.
Ian Dempsey’s show on Today FM has grown by 15,000 listeners to 201,000 since its running time was extended by an hour. Photo: Gerry Mooney
“The 2 Johnnys have been with us since February and we’re seeing real evidence elsewhere where they seem to be flying from 4:30pm so that’s really positive. It’s two big risks that we’ve taken and we think we’re really building now, which is positive.
“We made changes there over the weekend as well, and they seem fully justified to the extent that we deployed Laura Fox 9am-9am-11am to replace Louise McSharry. She’s grown by 8,000 listeners on Saturday and 11,000 on Sunday, so we’re really happy with that.”
RTÉ Radio 1 manager Peter Woods said he is “absolutely happy” with the latest JNLR figures.
“Play has had a phenomenal performance and more than a few books has attracted nearly 40,000 more listeners,” he said.
“Sinéad Mooney presents that and we put her there for a specific reason, because she has a great personality. She makes a great connection with listeners.
“On Morning Ireland you have Rachael English, Mary Wilson, Audrey Carville, ine Lawlor and Gavin Jennings, and sometimes Justin McCarthy. That’s quite a lineup.
Liveline, hosted by Joe Duffy, has lost 3000 listeners
“Those are some of the best broadcasters that have been on this station in recent years, all in one place in the morning, so that’s an authoritative program that reaches a wide audience. Then you’ve got Ryan Tubridy, who’s great style.”
Meanwhile, Newstalk Editor-in-Chief Patricia Monahan also commented on the latest figures, saying: “It’s fantastic to see continued and consistent growth across the station and to see a new Newstalk milestone of 7.2 pc. achieve market share.
“It’s particularly encouraging to see strong growth in the 20-44 age group.”