Thursday 5th November 2026: According to the latest JNLR results released today, JNLR/Ipsos 2026-3 (October 2025 – September 2026), just under 4 million adults listen to radio every week.
The results show that Bauer Media Audio Ireland remains Ireland’s leading radio group across all key audience metrics, with 2.29 million listeners each week and 1.53 million listeners tuning in every day across its portfolio of national, regional and local stations including Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, SPIN 1038, SPIN South West, Red FM, iRadio and Beat.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland remains the largest group on Prime-Time Market Share at 29.59%.
National
The latest JNLR figures show a significant surge in both Newstalk’s weekday and weekend audience, marking a major success for the station just eight months after the most significant schedule refresh in its history, with almost every programme on Newstalk’s schedule seeing an audience increase.
Newstalk now boasts a weekly audience of 882,000 (+27,000 BoB), its highest weekly reach in the station’s history, and a daily audience of 511,000 (+27,000 BoB). The station’s market share climbed to 8.3% (+0.5% BoB/+0.8% YoY).
Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage continues to attract a substantial audience of 167,000 (-1,000 BoB), while The Claire Byrne Show grew its mid-morning audience to 222,000, a huge jump of 12,000 listeners in the past three months.
The Hard Shoulder, hosted by Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman, also saw its evening audience grow, an increase of 17,000 (BoB) to 170,000.
Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan continues to grow with 126,000 listeners (+11,000 BoB) while Seán Moncrieff rises to 113,000 listeners (+8,000 BoB).
On weekday evenings, Off The Ball also saw its audience expand to 51,000 (+6,000 BoB).
Across the Newstalk weekend schedule, several programmes achieved record-high listenership, and the station reached its highest-ever weekend market share on both Saturday and Sunday, reaching 7.5% and 7% respectively.
The Pat Kenny Show on Saturday celebrates an audience of 175,000 (+8,000 BoB), maintaining its title as the most listened to weekend show in the station’s history. Pat’s Sunday show also achieved a record-high of 134,000 (+12,000 BoB).
Elsewhere on Saturday, Tech Talk with Jess Kelly also recorded its highest-ever audience, attracting 101,000 listeners (+10,000 BoB). Likewise, Screentime with John Fardy reached its highest-ever audience with 33,000.
There’s further record-breaking success showcased on Sunday, as Off The Ball with John Duggan attracted its largest audience to date in that timeslot with 162,000 (+29,000 BoB).
Elsewhere, IMRO ‘National Station of the Year’ Today FM remains Ireland’s most listened to commercial station by growing its weekly audience of 976,000 listeners (+2,000 BoB/+46,000 YoY) and a daily audience of 527,000 (+3,000 BoB/+24,000 YoY).
The results also showed record-breaking listenership figures for two shows on the station.
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show wakes up 245,000 listeners every weekday morning (+5,000 BoB). This is the seventh survey in a row where the show has gained new listenership, maintaining its position as the most listened to show on commercial radio in Ireland.
Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis is celebrating a major audience milestone with 204,000 listeners (+16,000 BoB) on Saturday mornings, surpassing 200,000 listeners for the first time in the show’s history.
Similarly, The Last Word with Matt Cooper, broadcast weekdays 16:30 – 19:00 maintained its record audience of 195,000 listeners (+0k BoB), matching the high achieved in the previous survey.
Across the weekday offering, programmes continued to attract sizeable audiences.
Dave Moore remains a popular mid-morning fixture, entertaining an audience of 205,000 daily listeners, while Louise Cantillon maintains a sizeable lunchtime audience with 132,000 listeners tuning-in daily.
Across the afternoon, Ray Foley continues to serve up a strong afternoon offering, attracting 178,000 listeners.
Regional
Across the wider Bauer Media Audio Ireland portfolio, several stations and programmes recorded strong audience performances and notable successes.
SPIN 1038 is Dublin’s Number One Music Station with a weekly reach of 242,000 listeners. The station leads the market among 15–34-year-olds, outperforming all other stations across every key metric and daypart. Fully Charged with Emma, Dave and Fiona recorded further audience growth, with the show now reaching 49,000 (+2,000 BoB) every weekday morning.
Red FM remains the most listened to station in Cork, with 157,000 weekly listeners. An increasing number of listeners are starting their day with Red FM Breakfast with KC, which now reaches 50,000 (+3,000 BoB) people every morning. Meanwhile, The Neil Prendeville Show remains the most listened to show in the region with 78,000 listeners.
iRadio, broadcasting to fifteen counties, continues to connect with a significant audience, reaching 328,000 weekly listeners. iMornings with Cooper and Oonagh recorded an increase, now waking up 79,000 (+5,000 BoB) listeners every weekday.
Beat now reaches 171,000 weekly listeners across the South East. Beat Breakfast, hosted by Niall Power and Shonagh Lyons, has increased its daily audience to 54,000 (+2,000 BoB). Similarly, Beat Drive with Lydia Des Dolles is on the rise with 41,000 (+3,000 BoB) daily listeners.
98FM continues to be a regular listening choice for 176,000 listeners every week in Dublin. 98FM’s Big Breakfast with Rebecca and Brendan kickstarts the day for 36,000 listeners every weekday morning. Leanne Hanafin, broadcasting weekday mid-mornings from 10:00am – 13:00, entertains 27,000 listeners daily (+1,000 BoB).
SPIN South West is the most listened to station among 15-34-year-olds across the region with 155,000 weekly listeners, and Eoghain Fitz maintains his position as the most listened to drivetime show in the region with an audience of 54,000 (+6,000 BoB).
Welcoming the results, Chris Doyle, CEO of Bauer Media Audio Ireland said: “These results are a powerful endorsement of our strategy and of the outstanding work taking place across Bauer Media Audio Ireland.
I am particularly delighted with Newstalk’s performance. Achieving its highest-ever weekly reach, alongside growth across the entire schedule and record weekend market shares, demonstrates the strength of the station’s refreshed offering and the growing connection it is building with listeners.
“With 2.29 million people choosing our stations every week, Bauer offers advertisers an unrivalled combination of scale, trusted brands and highly engaged audiences.”
All quoted figures are from JNLR/Ipsos 2026-3 (October 2025 – September 2026)
ENDS