Ray Foley gives Today FM welcome boost after Cork's RedFM departure
Ray Foley has brought in 11,000 more listeners
Ray Foley's return to national airwaves earlier this year has resulted in a huge jump in listeners for Today FM.
Foley, who left his Cork's RedFM gig for the weekday afternoon slot on Today FM, took over from Fergal D’Arcy in February.
The 2pm - 4.30pm weekday slot has since seen a jump of 11,000 listeners, with some 143,000 now tuning in, according to newly published Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures.
The station has also increased its market share to 9.1%, its highest in over a decade.
But RTÉ Radio One remains the top dog in the charts, with a market share of 21.3% and the only station with a weekly reach of more than one million listeners.
Morning Ireland remains the most-listened-to radio programme in the country with 473,000 people turning in daily from 7am for their morning dose of current affairs. This is more than double Ian Dempsey's breakfast show audience, which is around the 200,000 mark.
Bauer Media’s Newstalk has boosted its morning listenership to 146,000 (up 5,000) with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman at the helm.
2FM's offering, Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha and Carl, entertains 123,000 listeners every morning from 6am - 9am.
Ryan Tubridy's hour-long slot on RTÉ Radio One from 9am - 10am is the second-most listened-to show on the airwaves, gaining an additional 5,000 listeners this year at 369,000. Over at Today FM, Dermot & Dave's listenership figures have dropped slightly (down 2,000 since last year), but with an audience of 203,000 every weekday from 9am - 12pm, they remain the largest commercial radio show in Ireland.
Liveline continues to engage and inform the nation as 332,000 listeners are tuning in every weekday to talk to Joe.
The most-popular drivetime show is RTÉ's Drivetime with Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra, bringing in 216,000 listeners every weekday. Over on Today FM, Matt Cooper's The Last Word is attracting a drive-time audience of 174,000.
Kieran Cuddihy's The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk is bringing in 155,000 listeners, while Drive It with The 2Johnnies on 2FM has attracted 122,000 listeners.
Meanwhile, RTÉ 2FM boss Dan Healy has doubled-down on weekend changes at the station, which included the controversial letting-go of presenter Louise McSharry, stating that JNLR figures show they were "justified."
Since Laura Fox took over the 9am - 11am weekend slot from McSharry, listenership grew by 8,000 on Saturday and 11,000 on Sunday.
Commenting on today's figures, Healy said: "The changes we made at the weekends seem justified, particularly with Laura Fox making big gains at 9am on Saturday and Sunday.”
Despite the controversy John O'Brien and John McMahon, aka the 2 Johnnies, have courted since their move into radio, Healy seems happy with their performance.
"The 2 Johnnies look to be doing really well which augurs well for the next survey," he said.
