Almost 3.9 million adults tune into Irish radio every week, according to the latest JNLR results. JNLR/Ipsos 2025-1 (April ’24 – March ’25).
Bauer Media Audio Ireland is the largest radio group in the country with a Weekly Reach 2.26 million listeners and a Daily Reach of 1.53 million listeners across its portfolio of national, regional and local stations which includes Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, SPIN1038, SPIN South West, Cork’s Red FM, iRadio and Beat.
Today’s results also show that BMAI has a prime time All Adults market share of 28.76% with the latest audience results showing a 46.15% share of 15–34-year-old listeners.
Nationally, Today FM remains the leading commercial radio station in Ireland with a weekly listening audience of 914,000. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show retains its title as the biggest breakfast show on commercial radio with a morning audience of 204,000 (+2,000 BoB).
Across Ireland, Newstalk’s national market share stands at a solid 8.2% (no change YoY).
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 500,000 listeners.
In addition, Newstalk has also seen its daily reach increase by 11,000 compared to this time last year.
Top rated The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk remains the most popular show 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.
Elsewhere in the BMAI portfolio, there were notable station and programming performances.
In Dublin, 98FM recorded a Market Share of 5.8% (+0.4% BoB) with all of its daytime shows enjoying audience increases including 98FM’s Big Breakfast with Rebecca & Brendan who now entertain an audience of 51,000 (+4,000 BoB / +16,000 YoY). Brian Dowling and Suzanne Kane performed well with 36,000 listeners (+1,000 BoB, +7,000 YoY) while 98FM’s Big Ride Home with Brian Maher drew an audience of 40,000 (+4,000 BoB, +13,000 YoY).
SPIN 1038 saw its flagship breakfast show Fully Charged with Emma, Dave & Fiona increase its listenership by 3,000 (BoB) to reach 60,000.
In Cork, Red FM remains the “must listen to” station, achieving a daily reach of 141,000 (+3,000 BoB) in the latest results while its primetime schedule saw more growth.
There’s no doubt who holds the title of the biggest show in Cork: it’s The Neil Prendeville Show with 83,000 listeners (+6,000 YoY). Not to be outdone, Red FM’s Home Run with Colm O’Sullivan clocked in with an increased audience of 60,000 (+21,000 YoY) while the biggest breakfast show on Cork radio Red FM Breakfast with KC (on 53,000 listeners), added 6,000 new fans in the last year.
The growth of SPIN South West continues with a market share of 13.4% (+1.3% YoY) and a new, even stronger Weekly Reach of 162,000 (+15,000 YoY). Gaining even further in popularity, Fully Charged with Ed & Valerie grew to 40,000 (+8,000 YoY) while Michaela Hayes recorded an impressive 48,000 (+14,000 YoY.)
iRadio, which broadcasts across fifteen counties, now has a Market Share of 8.7% (+0.4%) while the biggest show on the station is still Dave & Fionnuala in the evenings at 85,000 (+3,000 YoY). It was also good news for Cooper & Oonagh on Breakfast who hit a listenership of 75,000 (+7,000 YoY) with Paul Byrne growing his lunchtime audience to 51,000 (+6,000 YoY).
In the South East, Beat had another very strong performance, delivering a Market Share of 16.9% (+2.8% YoY) and a huge Weekly Reach of 181,000 (+24,000 YoY). Beat Breakfast grew to a listenership of 59,000 (+12,000 YoY) while Beat Drive with Darren Rice saw his audience lift to 49,000 (+13,000 YoY).
Commenting on the results, Bauer Media Audio Ireland CEO Chris Doyle said;
“With the biggest audience of any radio group in Ireland, we are proud to be recognised as an influential and trusted source of news and entertainment. It is particularly pleasing to see continued audience growth at our stations across the country, further solidifying our position as the clear audience leader among Under 55s.
This success is a testament to the dedication and creativity of our incredible team across the group, their hard work continues to drive our momentum and creativity.
The results reinforce our ability to connect advertisers with highly engaged and desirable audiences”