Thursday, 12th February: The latest JNLR report (JNLR/Ipsos 2025-4 for the period January to December 2025) shows that 3.45 million Irish adults now tune in to radio every weekday. Today’s results proved hugely successful for Today FM across market share, weekly reach and listened yesterday.
Today FM now entertains a weekly audience of 941,000 listeners (+11,000 BoB) as it continues to be Ireland’s most listened to commercial radio station. Today FM also saw its daily listenership grow to 504,000 (+1,000 BoB / +29,000 YoY) as well as a sizeable jump in market share to 9% (+0.2% BoB / +0.7% YoY).
The big winners for IMRO ‘National Station of the Year’ include The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show (06:00-09:00), who remains the most listened to show on commercial radio with a whopping audience figure of 224,000 listeners (+6,000 BoB / +22,000 YoY). Ray Foley continues to grow his afternoon audience, now at 159,000 listeners (+3,000 BoB) and Louise Cantillon at lunchtimes increased her listenership to 130,000 listeners (+1,000 BoB / +9,000 YoY).
This is the fourth book in a row The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show has seen growth in its audience figures and commenting on today’s results, Ian Dempsey said:
“We’re passionate about bringing a bit of fun and energy to the start of every morning and helping listeners head into their day with a smile. It’s brilliant to see even more early risers choosing to wake up with us. Thanks so much for tuning in, we really appreciate it”
Dave Moore on Today FM (09:00-12:00) saw impressive growth in his mid-morning audience since this time last year as he now entertains 203,000 listeners (-1,000 BoB / +6,000 YoY). Today’s results come off a busy few months of celebrity interviews for Dave which saw him chat to some of the biggest names in movies and music including Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley, Jason Derulo and Matt Damon.
Louise Cantillon, (12:00-14:00) had a great day at the JNLR races with her audience growing to 130,000 (+1,000 BoB / +9,000 YoY). Louise recently had Irish success story Amble joining her in studio as they took over her playlist for the duration of her show.
Ray Foley (14:00 – 16:30) in the afternoons grew his audience to 159,000 listeners (+3,000 BoB). Ray recently got his audience to help out with a nationwide advertising campaign as he solicited for lines that best describe the show. Ray’s listeners didn’t disappoint with winning lines including “Fun and frolics with an absolute B****X”, “There’s no medication for this dose” and “I’m more of a Podcast guy myself”.
Commenting on his rise in listenership, Ray Foley said:
“I really want to say a huge thank you to all of the original listeners for not telling any of the new listeners the truth about the show. And welcome aboard to all our newbies – you look so fresh and shiny! Thanks so much for tuning in, spreading the word and being part of your show. We’ll do it all again tomorrow – together!”
The Last Word with Matt Cooper continues to attract strong commuter engagement over the last year, with his audience rising to 184,000 listeners (0 BoB / +17,000 YoY).
There was also a lot to shout about for Today FM evenings and weekends with Paula MacSweeney (19:00-22:00) growing her evening audience to 35,000 (+5,000 BoB / +3,000 YoY), Alison Curtis added a whopping 11,000 extra listeners to her Saturday show which now stands at 188,000 listeners (+11,000 BoB / +18,000 YoY) and Dec Pierce added more rave enthusiasts to his Block Rockin’ Beats show which now stands at 40,000 listeners (+4,000 BoB / +1,000 YoY).
Today’s performance comes off the back of a massive Irish music campaign launch by the national station. Today FM’s 100 Greatest Irish Songs just launched earlier this week, with listeners encouraged to vote for their favourite Irish songs of all time. The big 100 countdown will culminate in a live audience event next month. Cast your vote here – todayfm.com/irish
Commenting on the results, Today FM Managing Editor Nathan Murphy said:
“I’m delighted that Today FM is continuing to grow our audience and connect with more people every day with our brilliant mix of the best presenters, uniquely Irish content and the music that Ireland loves. Ian Dempsey wakes up the nation every morning with the most listened to show on commercial radio and that strong audience continues to stay with us throughout the day.”