Finucane gains most new listeners as Radio 1 scores

RTÉ Radio One and Marian Finucane in particular have emerged as the big winners in the latest Joint National Listenership Research figures which were published yesterday.

All the station’s main presenters boosted their audiences by several thousand listeners during 2008, with Ms Finucane turning in the most impressive performance, recording double-digit percentage growth for both her weekend shows over the past 12 months.

The broadcaster’s Saturday programme gained 53,000 new listeners to reach a total audience of 355,000 in December 2008 — an annual increase of 17.5%.

Her Sunday show listenership grew by over 26% — up 62,000 to 297,000.

Other RTÉ prime time presenters, including Pat Kenny, Derek Mooney and Mary Wilson on Drivetime also recorded strong growth, according to the JNLR figures.

Morning Ireland remains the country’s most popular programme with an audience of 437,000.

The results will be welcomed by RTÉ radio bosses as advertising revenues are coming under increasing pressure due to the recession. The national broadcaster maintained its stranglehold over the Top 10 programmes in the country as Today FM suffered a slight decline in listenership.

However, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland criticised the latest JNLR results claiming that RTÉ enjoyed an unfair competitive advantage by being able to liberally promote its radio stations on TV.

IBI chairman Willie O’Reilly, who is chief executive of Today FM, complained that the “cosy relationship” between RTÉ radio and its TV stations meant the broadcaster was not constrained in its promotional spend during 2008 unlike the independent sector.

Ryan Tubridy saw his audience grow to 315,000 over the past year, although the figure represents a slight drop on the previous JNLR survey in November.

All RTÉ’s best-known presenters saw their audience grow over the past year with the sole exception of 2FM’s Gerry Ryan.

The outspoken broadcaster has suffered a decline in listenership figures — down 11,000 to 328,000, although Ryan recorded a slight increase of 1,000 compared with the most recent JNLR survey three months ago.

However, Ryan who remains the lone high-profile RTÉ star who has refused to take a pay cut or make some financial gesture in the economic downturn, could suffer a further drop in audience figures because of his controversial stance.

Although all Today FM’s leading presenters, including Ray D’Arcy, Ian Dempsey and Matt Cooper, recorded a small decrease in audience sizes, the station has drawn level with its main rival, 2FM in terms of overall listenership figures.

The latest JNLR results also show good growth for the other national independent station, Newstalk 106-108FM. The station’s lunchtime presenter, Eamon Keane, is up by more than 37% to 59,000 listeners.