JNLR radio figures RTÉ 2FM shows have enjoyed a slight boost in listeners despite the loss of a number of high-profile presenters, according to the latest JNLR figures. It has been a summer of turmoil for the station as it lost five of its most popular hosts – Doireann Garrihy, The 2 Johnnies, Jennifer Zamparelli and Donncha O’Callaghan. In an unexpected turn of events, Garrihy, Zamparelli and The 2 Johnnies all left in the space of a week.
Bláthnaid Treacy, who is on air across the weekend from 9am to 12pm, has enjoyed an increase of 7,000 on Saturday and 18,000 on a Sunday, bringing her total audience to 136,000 and 128,000 respectively. Today's News in 90 Seconds - August 15th The presenter, who took over the slot in May, returned to work seven weeks after the birth of her first child, a girl named Nancy Claire, in June of last year. The latest JNLR figures represent listenership across April, May and June.
RTÉ Radio 1 has also had an increase in listeners across most shows except for the News at One, which is down 6,000 listeners to 295,000 after bidding farewell to long-time host Bryan Dobson in May. Dobson retired from RTÉ after a 37-year career and presented his last show on May 3. Gavin Jennings took over from Dobson on the programme before he was permanently replaced by Rachael English in mid-July.
On the other side of the dial, Newstalk has had a boost in its morning listenership. The Pat Kenny Show numbers represent an increase of 15,000 listeners, achieving a record listenership of 244,000 every day. Newstalk Breakfast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman also recorded an all-time high audience of 168,000 listeners, up 11,000.
Switching back to 2FM, Breakfast with Carl & Aifric has had a boost of 6,000 to 149,000 listeners every morning from 6am to 9am. The Laura Fox Show, which used to be fronted by Jennifer Zamparelli, has had a jump of 6,000 to 141,000 Garrihy, who gave three weeks' notice before departing, presented her final breakfast show with O’Callaghan and Mullan on Friday, May 31, after five years with the broadcaster. She cited her podcasts and travel as reasons for the departure.
Rugby star O’Callaghan shocked listeners when he too announced that he would be leaving RTÉ 2FM, presenting his last show on July 5. The Laura Fox Show , which used to be fronted by Jennifer Zamparelli, has had a jump of 6,000 to 141,000. Zamparelli announced on May 23 that she would not be returning to her daily three-hour slot after 10 years.
The presenter had been absent from her show for several weeks when she made the announcement. Jennifer Zamparelli 2FM’s daily 3pm to 6pm slot, which was fronted by The 2 Johnnies but is now hosted by Beta Da Silva, is up 6,000 listeners to 157,000. The Tipperary comedy duo, consisting of Johnny ‘Smacks’ McMahon and Johnny ‘B’ O’Brien, left the station at the end of May to focus on their podcast and TV work.
Lottie Ryan and David O’Reilly took over the reins temporarily in June while Da Silva only took over last month, so the impact of her arrival has yet to be recorded. Tracey Clifford has 128,000 listeners each lunchtime, an increase of 7,000. Meanwhile over at RTÉ Radio 1, Morning Ireland is up 17,000 listeners for the period to 486,000, which is an increase of 46,000 year on year.
Brendan O’Connor’s weekend show from 11am to 1pm on Saturday is down 12,000 to 340,000. However, this is still an increase of 2,000 year on year. O’Connor’s Sunday show is also down 9,000 to 346,000, but this is still a boost of 23,000 year on year.
Miriam O’Callaghan’s one-hour Sunday show is up 5,000 to 309,000 listeners this book (three-month period). Oliver Callan’s one-hour morning show currently has 336,000 people tuning in from 9am, an increase of 6,000 for the period. Comedian Callan took over the slot permanently from Ryan Tubridy, who was last on air in June last year.
The programme had a listenership of 343,000 in February of this year. In November last year, the slot had a weekday audience of 347,000. Today with Claire Byrne has had an increase of 3,000 listeners this book, meaning she now has a daily audience of 344,000.
Broadcaster Pat Kenny. Photo: Steve Humphreys Ray D’Arcy’s slot is up 10,000 to 191,000 and Drivetime with Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra is up 4,000 to 224,000 this book. Joe Duffy’s Liveline is up 1,000 listeners to 302,000.
Meanwhile, Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan has had an increase of 19,000 listeners, meaning 137,000 now tune in daily. Moncrieff with Sean Moncrieff also got a lift in listenership, with 3,000 more to 108,000 and The Hard Shoulder with Kieran Cuddihy increased by 7,000 to 155,000. Newstalk is now the leading talk station nationally for 20- to 44-year-olds with 184,000 in that demographic tuning in every week.
Over on Today FM, The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show now has 210,000 listeners, which is a decrease of 6,000, tuning in each morning. Dave Moore has marked his one-year anniversary of his show with 223,000 listeners, which is 7,000 more than this time last year but 5,000 less since March. Dave Moore continues to be the most listened-to show on the station.
Louise Cantillon entertains 131,000 listeners from 12pm to 2pm every day, which represents a drop of 8,000. Ray Foley in the afternoons now holds an audience of 155,000 listeners, a decrease of 6,000 this book. The Last Word with Matt Cooper recorded an audience of 171,000, a loss of 10,000 this book.
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