Fall in listeners to former Ryan Tubridy slot on RTÉ radio confirmed

The number of people tuning into Ryan Tubridy's former slot on RTÉ Radio 1 fell slightly during the second half of last year, new figures have confirmed.

However, according to the latest JNLR listenership figures, the 9am weekday slot remains one of the most-listened to shows on Irish radio.

Although comedian and broadcaster Oliver Callan was announced as the new presenter last month, the latest figures, published this Thursday, only cover the 2023 calendar year.

According to the latest JNLR figures, Morning Ireland remains the most-listened to radio show in Ireland with 486,000 listeners every weekday morning.

During 2023, The Nine O’Clock Show / The Ryan Tubridy Show and the Sunday edition of the Brendan O’Connor Show were jointly the second most-listened to programmes in Ireland with 343,000 listeners.

In the case of Ryan Tubridy's former slot, this was down from 347,000 (from the previous figures) while in the case of Brendan O'Connor, it was an increase from 335,000. 

According to the latest figures, 17 of the 20 most-listened to shows on Irish Radio are broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1.

The only exceptions are the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show (228k) and Dermot Whelan/Dave Moore (230k) on Today FM and the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk (216k).

Commenting on the latest figures Kevin Bakhurst, director general of RTÉ, said: “The enduring value and relevance of public service media to people in Ireland is clear to see in these latest figures. Over two million adults tune into RTÉ’s radio services every week, and RTÉ Radio 1 remains the only station with a weekly reach of over one million people. It’s especially gratifying to see how more and more young people are connecting with 2fm, a vital element in RTÉ’s public service portfolio, with the service weekday reach up 1% year on year."

While RTÉ dominates the latest figures, Newstalk has hit a record-high audience share with 480,000 listeners now tuning in every day with 838,000 people tuning in every week.

Newstalk's managing editor Patricia Monahan commented: “We are delighted that our content is striking a chord with listeners and that so many are spending significant time with us every day. Huge congratulations to all our hardworking teams who show great dedication and creativity to produce the best possible output for our audiences."