Claire Byrne going strong at Newstalk, but David McCullagh has suffered a dip in listenership, latest JNLR figures show
The latest batch of Joint National Listenership Research (JNLRs) reveal a slump in all its shows across the flagship station.
This contrasts starkly with the commercial sector which sees “phenomenal” gains for Today FM and Newstalk – which also had a huge reshuffle.
Two of Today FM’s shows, namely The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show and Matt Cooper’s The Last Word, have reached new audience highs.
Former RTÉ anchor Claire Byrne, who started her Newstalk show on February 3, has kept Pat Kenny’s audience strong at 206,000. This is the same figure as the last survey three months ago.
The latest survey covers January, February and March.
Newstalk has also seen its audience share increasing from 7.5pc up to 7.8pc while RTÉ Radio 1’s has dropped from 20.3pc to 19.6pc.
An RTÉ spokesperson said these changes were “fully expected” after the most dramatic schedule shake-up in 40 years.
Its new schedule, which launched on November 10, has seen a drop in listenership right across the board.
Morning Ireland, which had a huge presenter shake-up last year, is down 15,000 listeners on the last survey three months ago, standing at 452,000.
David McCullagh, who took over from Byrne, has lost 17,000 listeners, down to 423,000, while Oliver Callan is now at 296,000. This is a drop of 12,000 from the last survey.
News at One has lost 4,000 listeners to stand at 275,000 while Liveline, hosted by Kieran Cuddihy, has shed 12,000, to come to 268,000.
When Joe Duffy still hosted the long-running show in May 2025, his audience was 307,000.
Louise Duffy’s show is down 13,000 and is now at 145,000, while Drivetime saw a slight drop of 7,000 to 211,000.
Radio 1’s new double-hander Inside Sport is down to 85,000 listeners, a drop of 7,000.
Weekends also reveal a similar pattern. Brendan O’Connor’s Saturday show has lost 15,000 but is still drawing a massive audience, at 414,000. He’s also slightly down for his Sunday offering, dropping 9,000 to 409,000.
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Miriam O’Callaghan’s show is also down, to stand at 334,000 – a small drop of 7,000 listeners.
An RTÉ spokesperson said change in listenership was always on the cards.
“We were fully expecting this. We fully believe in the schedule and are excited to see what’s to come over the coming months,” she said.
The only RTÉ Radio 1 show to buck the downward trend was The Business, presented by Richard Curran on a Saturday. His figures have gone up 2,000 to stand at 372,000.
Over in the commercial sector, both Anton Savage and Claire Byrne seem to be hitting the right notes with Newstalk listeners.
Both of them have kept their slots’ existing audiences, with no fluctuation from the previous survey. Savage has kept the same figure for the early-morning show, with 158,000 listeners.
Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan has added 5,000 to her show, to come to 114,000. Moncrieff is also up, adding 9,000 more listeners to stand at 101,000.
Anton Savage. Photo: Aidan Oliver
The Hard Shoulder is also performing strongly, going up 4,000 to 153,000.
Over on its sister station, Today FM, The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is pulling in huge numbers. He has gone up to a record high to come to 232,000, adding 8,000 listeners to his popular slot.
Dave Moore is up 3,000 to stand at 206,000, while Louise Cantillon has gained 5,000 more for her lunchtime show to come to 135,000.
Ray Foley is up 7,000 to 166,000, while Matt Cooper’s show now has an average of 192,000 listeners. This is 9,000 more and represents a new high for his drive-time show.
Chris Doyle, CEO of Bauer Media, described the latest figures as a “phenomenal book” for the radio group.
“We’ve had a huge schedule change on Newstalk, the biggest one in a long time, and it’s still early days, but it’s obviously been very well received,” he said.
“Other stations are coming off the back of changes and seeing audiences falling. But it shows real confidence in the decisions made by Newstalk. Anton’s flying it on Breakfast as a solo presenter, the first one in a long time.”
Marty Whelan is bucking the trend on RTÉ’s Lyric FM. Photo: Steve Humphreys
On Byrne moving to Newstalk, he said she has “really hit the ground running”. She is performing particularly well in the digital audio space. Last month she became Bauer Media’s fastest-ever station podcast to reach one million listens after just three months on air.
“That’s a good indication of the trajectory of that show. She has settled in so well and it’s great to have her back on Newstalk as part of the new line-up,” Mr Doyle said.
One surprise in the latest survey was RTÉ’s Lyric FM gaining ground on its competitors. Mary Whelan’s show has gone to new heights to come to 85,000, up from 77,000.
The popular presenter, who would normally be fronting Ireland’s Eurovision coverage this week, was thrilled with the news.
“From Beethoven to Bublé, every morning we have fun; a bright start to your day. With the listeners participation, we’re like a morning club – jokes and stories arrive from 7am,” he said.