Thursday 13th August 2026: The latest JNLR figures demonstrate a clear surge in daytime listenership on Newstalk, five months since the most significant schedule revamp in the station’s history, underlining the strong audience response to the refreshed lineup.
The latest JNLR results, JNLR/Ipsos 2026-2 (July 2025 to June 2026) reveal Newstalk informs and entertains a weekly audience of 855,000 (+9,000 BoB) and a daily audience of 484,000 (+18,000 BoB) driven by compelling interviews, high-profile guests, and a continued commitment to delivering conversation that counts across the station’s offering seven days a week.
The three new weekday shows that launched in February of this year demonstrated a strong performance, reflecting a continued positive audience and media response to the new schedule changes.
Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage increased by 10,000 listeners, growing to 168,000; a record figure only reached once before in that timeslot.
The Claire Byrne Show also demonstrated strong growth, rising to an audience of 210,000 (+4,000 BoB).
The Hard Shoulder, hosted by Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman, remained steady at 153,000 while it was also positive news for Seán Moncrieff, who grew his audience to 105,000 (+4,000 BoB).
Similarly, it was upwards for Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan, now with an audience of 115,000 (+1,000 BoB).
Across the station’s weekend offering, there were some significant highlights.
The Pat Kenny Show, broadcast Saturday and Sunday 10;00am – 12:00pm, achieved a record-breaking weekend figure for the station. Pat’s Saturday show now boasts an audience of 167,000 listeners, making it the most listened to weekend show in the station’s history. Pat’s Sunday programme also increased to 122,000 (+3,000 BoB).
Elsewhere on Saturday, Tech Talk with Jess Kelly delivered promising growth, with an audience increase to 91,000 (+8,000 BoB), another record-breaking high for the station in its midday timeslot. Off The Ball on Saturday also saw a surge in listenership, now entertaining an audience of 147,000 (+8,000 BoB).
On Sunday, Alive and Kicking with Clare McKenna grew to 40,000 (+4,000 BoB).
Newstalk’s market share remains steady at 7.8%.
Eric Moylan, Managing Editor, Newstalk said: “This strong performance after just five months of our new schedule launch is fantastic to see. It’s clear the audience likes what they hear and are moving the dial. In the past three months we’ve seen more people tune in each weekday and across the weekend with impressive growth for Newstalk Breakfast, The Claire Byrne Show, Moncrieff and The Pat Kenny Show on Saturday and Sunday, where Pat has already set a record for the most listened to weekend programme in the station’s history. We’ve so many exciting developments in the works for our listeners and we’ll continue to put them at the heart of all we do in the weeks and months ahead.’’
All quoted figures are from JNLR/Ipsos 2026-2 (July 2025 to June 2026)