JNLR figures: Audiences grow for several flagship RTÉ radio shows

The national broadcaster's Radio 1 remains the number one station with over 1.3 million listeners every week and with three shows reaching more than 400,000 listeners. File picture: Donal Farmer

Several of RTÉ's flagship radio shows have experienced audience gains, according to the latest radio figures. 

The national broadcaster's Radio 1 remains the number one station with over 1.3 million listeners every week and with three shows reaching more than 400,000 listeners. 

Both Radio 1 and 2fm underwent major revamps earlier this year with the first major shake-up of their schedules in years. 

JNLR figures show that Morning Ireland reached 464,000 listeners — gaining 7,000 when compared to results published in August, while Liveline with Kieran Cuddihy increased its audience by 14,000 to 268,000. 

It also shows that Today with David McCullagh has 421,000 listeners, while Oliver Callan has 283,000 listeners in his slot from 11am to 1pm. This was a drop of 1,000 for Today and a drop of 2,000 for Oliver Callan. 

Weekends on RTÉ Radio 1 have also seen increases, the JNLRs show. 

Brendan O'Connor's Saturday broadcast gained 11,000 listeners since the last quarter, bringing it up to 411,000, while his Sunday show had 391,000 listeners. 

Sunday with Miriam O'Callaghan had 5,000 more listeners, bringing the total up to 322,000. 

Meanwhile, Newstalk said it recorded its "highest weekly reach in the station's history" with a weekly audience of 882,000 and a daily audience of 511,0000. 

The Claire Byrne Show saw a jump of 12,000 listeners in the last quarter, bringing the total number of listeners up to 222,000. 

Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage, however, saw a drop of 1,000 listeners, according to the JNLR figures, bringing it to 167,000. 

Pat Kenny's weekend show saw increases as well. The Saturday programme saw an increase of 8,000 listeners, bringing it up to 175,000. His Sunday show listenership grew by 12,000, bringing it to 134,000. 

The Hard Shoulder, hosted by Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman, also grew by 17,000 to 170,000 in the last quarter, while Sean Moncrieff grew to 113,000 listeners. Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan now has an audience of 126,000, the JNLRs show. 

The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on TodayFM recorded its highest-ever listenership, with 245,000 listeners tuning in to its morning show. The Last Word with Matt Cooper had 195,000 listeners. 

Director of Audio at RTÉ, Patricia Monahan, described the results as "very encouraging", especially for Radio 1. 

"Less than a year since the launch of the new schedule, it's fantastic to see that listeners are engaging with new voices and shows across the day," she said. 

"It's particularly heartening to see significant growth for the new additions to the schedule," Ms Monahan added.