Eight out of 10 listen to radio daily
Figures released by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland show 86% of people listen to the radio at some stage every day - putting us well ahead of the typical 72% to 75% average in other countries.
“Although radio listenership is down by two percentage points on this time last year, it’s still a hugely popular medium in an Irish context,” a spokesperson for the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland said last night. “When you look at the overall situation, it still presents a very healthy picture.”
Despite competition from more than 50 licensed stations, RTÉ 1 remains market leader. But its 28% listenership shows a fall of one percentage point on the position a year ago. However, its 32% listened-to-yesterday figure for Dublin is 10 points ahead of nearest rival, 98FM.
The latest JNLR/TNS MRBI interim figures, which cover April-September 2003, show regional and local commercial stations recording a 53% (-1) listenership. 2FM is on 25% (-2), with Today FM down two points on 15%. RTÉ Lyric FM dropped a point to 3%.
RTÉ Radio managing director Adrian Moynes said the national broadcaster was “very happy” with the stability of the figures shown by the RTÉ radio stations.
RTÉ Radio 1’s popularity has increased significantly in highly-populated County Cork, where its reach had grown from 25% to 28%, the broadcaster said.
Today FM’s two percentage points fall in national listenership (15%) may reflect waning support for The Last Word flagship programme, since the departure of original presenter Eamon Dunphy.
The station has a 12% listened yesterday figure in the Dublin area. Willie O’Reilly, CEO of Today FM, said he was satisfied they were performing well in an extremely competitive market.
In Cork, 96FM/County Sound recorded a listenership figure of 49% (-6), while Red FM’s reach was 16%, down four percentage points. New south-east station, Beat FM achieved a reach of 16% in its first three months.
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