In the latest JNLR results, – JNLR/Ipsos 2025-1 (April ’24 – March ’25) published today., Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder has delivered in the highly competitive drivetime market, growing 5,000 listeners in the past year. The programme, presented by Kieran Cuddihy, offers a compelling mix of news, discussion, chat and debate and is proving a hit with listeners.
It is one of a number of shows to build traction in the latest JNLR report. Weekends on Newstalk have seen impressive growth with market share on both Saturday and Sunday trending strongly up (up.7% on Saturday and .6% on Sunday). Both anchor programmes for the weekend, The Anton Savage Show and Off the Ball, have achieved impressive growth.
The Anton Savage Show, Saturday has 133,000 listeners (+10,000 BoB) and Sunday also has133,000 listeners (+5,000 BoB). Off the Ball on Saturday recorded 157,000 listeners (+21,000 BoB) and on Sunday, 146,000 listeners (+19,000 BoB).
Elsewhere there has been increases across the board with Tech Talk, Alive and Kicking and Taking Stock some of the specialist speech programming to see growth.
Newstalk’s top rated The Pat Kenny Show remains the most popular programme on commercial radio with 224,000 listeners. Its pulling power stems from a combination of Pat’s compelling, inquisitive style and an engaging mixture of news, politics, debate, entertainment and exclusive interviews, most recently with Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank.
Across Ireland, Newstalk’s national market share stands at a solid 8.2% (no change YoY) at a time when more than 3.83 million adults are tuning into Irish radio each week.
Reflecting its position as “must listen” radio, Newstalk now has a weekly reach of 861,000 (+ 9,000 YoY)) and is the second most listened to radio station in the country every day with half a million listeners. Newstalk has also seen its daily reach increase by 11,000 compared to this time last year. Newstalk Breakfast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman has 165,000 listeners (+8,000 YoY) who begin their day with a lively array of debate, expert analysis and conversation that’s never less than enthusiastic.
Andrea Gilligan’s Lunchtime Live is a firm listener favourite with an audience of 134,000 (an impressive + 16,000 YoY.) Moncrieff offers a unique mix that challenges and entertains and has 108,000 listeners in this latest report (+ 4,000 YoY).
Meanwhile, Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder delivers a keen audience of 153,000 (+5,000 YOY) with a blend of up-to-the-minute news and features that entertain commuters making their way home. In addition, 50,000 listeners find Off The Ball for their daily helping of the latest news in sport.
Eric Moylan, Managing Editor of Newstalk said:
“Today’s figures show continued connection with our audience as we talk about the topics that matter to them. It’s really great to see strong growth on our diverse weekend offering where both our dual day programmes, The Anton Savage Show and Off The Ball, are pulling in really impressive figures. Both Saturday and Sunday are proving audience winners throughout the entire day.”
Key figures for Newstalk weekday shows:
- Newstalk Breakfast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman: 165,000 (-1,000 BoB / +8,000 YoY)
- The Pat Kenny Show: 224,000 (-12,000 BoB / -5,000 YoY)
- Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan: 134,000 (-5,000 BoB / +16,000 YoY)
- Moncrieff: 108,000 (-4,000 BoB / +4,000 YoY)
- The Hard Shoulder: 153,000 (+2,000 BoB / +5,000 YoY)
- Off The Ball: 50,000 (-1,000 BoB / +2, 000 YoY)
Key figures for Newstalk weekend shows:
- The Anton Savage Show (Saturday)133,000 (+10,000 BoB)
- The Anton Savage Show (Sunday) 133,000 (+5,000 Bob)
- Off The Ball (Saturday)157,000 (+21,000 BoB)
- Off the Ball (Sunday) 146,000 (+19,000 BoB)
- Tech Talk (Saturday) 51,000 (+9,000 BoB)
- Alive and Kicking (Sunday) 37,000 (+7,000 BoB)
- Taking Stock (Sunday) 83,000 (+9,000 BoB)
- The Home Show (Saturday) 50,000 (+6,000 BoB)
Information sourced from JNLR/Ipsos 2025-1 (April ’24 – March ’25)