{"id":166125,"date":"2025-11-06T13:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T13:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/166125\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T13:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T13:46:12","slug":"dont-talk-to-joe-20000-listener-slump-for-liveline-after-duffys-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/166125\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t talk to Joe: 20,000 listener slump for \u2018Liveline\u2019 after Duffy\u2019s exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

RT\u00c9 says show has been going through a \u2018rest period\u2019 since veteran broadcaster hung up his micJNLR figures provide good news for the likes of Brendan O\u2019Connor and Miriam O\u2019Callaghan\n<\/p>\n

As proof of Duffy\u2019s star power, figures from the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLRs) reveal the huge slump in his show over the summer.<\/p>\n

The veteran presenter finished up on June 27, after 37 years with RT\u00c9 and was replaced with a rotating panel of broadcasters following his retirement.<\/p>\n

It may spell an uphill battle for Kieran Cuddihy when he takes up the reins of the show next Monday as part of the massive RT\u00c9 Radio 1 reshuffle.<\/p>\n

Ratings for Liveline dropped to their lowest-ever levels, going from 299,000 listeners to 279,000 in the period from July, August and September.<\/p>\n

\"Liveline<\/p>\n

Liveline has seen a slump since Joe Duffy left earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Thursday, November 6 <\/p>\n

An RT\u00c9 spokesperson said the long-running show was going through a \u201crest period\u201d over the summer with a natural fall-off expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe left RT\u00c9 on June 27 so this book (survey) is only for July, August and September. It reflects the rest period for Liveline with the rotating presenters. We are really looking forward to Kieran starting on Monday. It\u2019s all about the future now,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

In general, Radio 1\u2019s schedule is continuing to perform strongly, particularly at the weekends.<\/p>\n

Brendan O\u2019Connor\u2019s Saturday show is up 7,000 to 419,000, while figures for his Sunday slot are even stronger. He now has an average of 427,000 listeners, an increase of 18,000 from the previous survey.<\/p>\n

The show has now achieved a higher listenership than when it was helmed by the late Marian Finucane.<\/p>\n

Miriam O\u2019Callaghan, meanwhile, added an impressive 20,000 more listeners for her Sunday show, which now stands at 337,000.<\/p>\n

Figures for Radio 1\u2019s weekday offerings remain consistently strong, starting with Morning Ireland, which is up 2,000 to 471,000 listeners.<\/p>\n

It retains the title of Ireland\u2019s most popular radio show, with presenters Mary Wilson and \u00c1ine Lawlor signing off on a high at the end of September.<\/p>\n

There was a slight drop in listeners to Oliver Callan\u2019s show, which will run for two hours from next Monday from 11am-1pm. He is down 7,000 to stand at 347,000, but is performing well.<\/p>\n

\"Kieran<\/p>\n

Kieran Cuddihy has a battle on his hands as he prepares to fill the ‘Liveline’ slot. Photo: Steve Humphreys<\/p>\n

Claire Byrne, who has now exited the station ahead of starting with Newstalk, saw no change for her show\u2019s slot with 354,000 listeners. This is one of the highest ratings for that slot and puts her in a strong position heading into Newstalk.<\/p>\n

Louise Duffy\u2019s show is down 4,000 to stand at 215,000, while News at One has shed 14,000 to stand at 298,000.<\/p>\n

The afternoon slot that was occupied by Ray D\u2019Arcy, who left RT\u00c9 last month, had ratings of 181,000 \u2013 only down 1,000 from the last survey.<\/p>\n

Despite the decision to swap out regular presenters Sarah McInerney and Cormac O\u2019hEadhra, Drivetime gained 5,000 listeners over the summer months, which is usually a quiet time for \u2018talk radio\u2019.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s slot now stands at 222,000, with new presenters Katie Hannon and Colm \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in inheriting a popular show as part of the reshuffle.<\/p>\n

The RT\u00c9 spokesperson said it was an \u201cexciting time for Radio 1\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t seen a schedule shake-up like this in a very long time and the presenters and the programme teams are very excited,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new Inside Sport show will have two great presenters at the helm in Jacqui Hurley and Marie Crowe. We are a nation that loves its sports and they will really reflect that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest figures show RT\u00c9 Radio 1 remains the first choice for adults aged 35-54 nationwide, with a weekly reach of over one million listeners.<\/p>\n

Over in the commercial sector, Anton Savage is continuing to win over listeners for his weekend shows, which Pat Kenny will inherit next year.<\/p>\n

Despite strong competition, Savage has added 7,000 listeners to his Saturday show which now stands at 146,000. His Sunday show is also up 5,000 to come to 124,000.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the figures, he said it was a \u201clovely feeling to see the growth and the number of people willing to put up with me of a Saturday and Sunday\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"RT\u00c9<\/p>\n

RT\u00c9 Radio 1’s new line-up sees David McCullagh take over from Claire Byrne, and a new sports show presented by Jacqui Hurley and Marie Crowe. Photo: RT\u00c9<\/p>\n

There has been much speculation that he could take over Cuddihy\u2019s weekday slot, but Newstalk is keeping tight-lipped on plans for now.<\/p>\n

The station confirmed today that it will \u201csoon announce a new presenter and fresh take on this show for 2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cuddihy dropped 14,000 listeners over the summer to stand at 151,000 for his drivetime show.<\/p>\n

Other substantial drops were recorded for Pat Kenny\u2019s morning show, which will be helmed by Claire Byrne in the new year as he moves to the weekends.<\/p>\n

Kenny dropped 20,000 listeners to come down to 196,000. Also down is Off the Ball which is down 12,000 to stand at 47,000, while Lunchtime Live is down 8,000 to 116,000 alongside Newstalk Breakfast, which is down 4,000 to 161,000.<\/p>\n

On Today FM, there was good news for most of its flagship shows. As proof of his enduring popularity, Ian Dempsey\u2019s breakfast show is up 5,000 to stand at 218,000, making it the most popular morning slot on commercial radio.<\/p>\n

Dave Moore is up 6,000 to stand at 204,000 while Louise Cantillon gained 10,000 to come to 129,000. There was good news too for Matt Cooper\u2019s Last Word which added 3,000 listeners to stand at 184,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9 says show has been going through a \u2018rest period\u2019 since veteran broadcaster hung up his micJNLR figures…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,23898,18,13,14,6,19,17,36069,11,12,15,16,57978,69608,5,24321,24320,1181,24556,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-166125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-claire-byrne","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-joe-duffy-broadcaster","18":"tag-latest-news","19":"tag-latestnews","20":"tag-main-news","21":"tag-mainnews","22":"tag-melanie-finn","23":"tag-miriam-ocallaghan","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-newstalk","26":"tag-pat-kenny","27":"tag-rte","28":"tag-rte-radio-1","29":"tag-top-stories","30":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115503064022310770","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}