Almost 3.5m adults in Ireland listen to radio on an average weekday, equivalent to 78% of the adult population, according to the latest JNLR/Ipsos figures.
The JNLR/Ipsos 2026-2 survey, covering the 12 months from July 2025 to June 2026, also shows that 89% of adults listen to radio during an average week, underlining the continuing scale of the medium at a time of increased media fragmentation.
According to Radiocentre Ireland, radio reaches a particularly high proportion of a number of commercially important audience groups. More than 2.6m main shoppers listen every weekday, representing 80% of that audience, while 76% of ABC1 adults tune in on an average weekday.
Among younger listeners, almost 900,000 people aged 15-34 listen to radio each weekday, representing 65% of the age group. Within the 15-24 demographic, weekday listening stands at 417,000, or 59%.
Listening is even higher among older audiences, with 84% of adults aged 35 and over tuning in each weekday, representing 2.6m people, according to the Ipsos figures. Among women working full-time, weekday reach stands at 81%, or 771,000 listeners.
Local and regional radio also remains an important part of the overall market, with almost 2.3m adults listening to a local or regional station every weekday.
The latest survey also points to the changing ways in which audiences are accessing radio. Connected devices now account for 12% of total radio listening, rising to 18% among 15-34-year-olds. Smart speakers alone account for 8% of all radio listening and 9.5% among adults aged 15-34.
Ciarán Cunningham, CEO of Radiocentre Ireland, said the latest figures illustrated the extent to which radio remained embedded in everyday life.
“Almost 3.5 million people listen every weekday and that daily habit cuts right across the population,” he said.
“At a time when audiences have an extraordinary amount of choice about what they watch, read and listen to, 78% of adults choosing to spend part of every weekday with radio is a remarkable level of engagement.”
He added that while the technology used to access radio was changing, “the fundamental habit of listening remains incredibly strong”.
The latest JNLR book also paints a picture of intense competition among the various radio broadcasters, with Bauer Media’s portfolio of stations now eclipsing that of RTÉ in terms of market share. The latest book puts Bauer Media’s overall share of the market at 29.46% compared to 28.2% for RTE. The latter, however, is the home of the top ten radio programmes in the country and broadcasts 16 of the top 20 programmes. With 1.3m listeners, RTÉ Radio 1 is also the largest radio station in terms of listeners.
RTÉ
RTÉ recorded a 28.2% market share in the latest survey, with almost two million people listening to its radio services each week across RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2FM, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
RTÉ Radio 1 remains the broadcaster’s largest station, reaching 1.354 million listeners each week.
Its biggest individual programme audience remains Morning Ireland, which has 457,000 listeners, up 5,000 book-on-book. Today with David McCullagh has 422,000 listeners, while Oliver Callan attracts 285,000 in the 11am-1pm slot.
News at One has an audience of 273,000, while Liveline has 254,000 listeners. Drivetime, presented by Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin, reaches 211,000 listeners.
At weekends, Brendan O’Connor attracts 400,000 listeners on Saturday and 399,000 on Sunday, while The Business has 342,000 listeners and Sunday with Miriam has 317,000.
RTÉ 2FM, meanwhile, has increased its share among 15-34-year-olds to 9.4%. According to RTÉ, the station now reaches 325,000 adults on an average weekday, with its daily reach up 13,000 and weekly reach up 30,000 in the latest survey.
The extended 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz & Aisling has an audience of 175,000, while the station’s afternoon and drivetime programmes record audiences of 99,000 and 127,000 respectively.
RTÉ lyric fm reaches 358,000 listeners each week and has a market share of 3.5%. That represents an additional 29,000 weekly listeners year-on-year, according to the broadcaster.
Marty in the Morning is the station’s largest programme with 85,000 listeners, an increase of 10,000 year-on-year, while Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive has 68,000 listeners, up 4,000.
RTÉ also reported a 3% quarter-on-quarter increase in digital live listening, while it said on-demand listening through its podcast portfolio was also growing.
Patricia Monahan, director of audio at RTÉ, said the results indicated that new schedules across Radio 1 and 2FM were “beginning to resonate with audiences”, while lyric fm was maintaining the momentum it had built in recent years.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland
Bauer Media Audio Ireland reported 2.29m weekly listeners and more than 1.53m daily listeners across a portfolio that includes Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, SPIN 1038, SPIN South West, Red FM, iRadio and Beat.
The group recorded a prime-time market share of 29.46%, which Bauer said puts it ahead of RTÉ on that particular measure.
Today FM’s market share increased to 10%, up 0.4 percentage points book-on-book and its first time reaching that level in more than a decade.
The station has a weekly reach of 974,000, an increase of 20,000 book-on-book and 46,000 year-on-year. Daily reach stands at 524,000, up 4,000 on the previous survey and 25,000 compared with a year earlier.
Among Today FM’s individual programmes, The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show has 240,000 listeners, Dave Moore has 211,000 and The Last Word with Matt Cooper has 195,000. Ray Foley’s afternoon audience increased by 13,000 to 179,000.
Newstalk’s weekly reach increased to 855,000, up 9,000 book-on-book, while daily reach increased by 18,000 to 484,000. Its overall market share remained unchanged at 7.8%.
The Claire Byrne Show has an audience of 210,000, while Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage increased by 10,000 to 168,000. The Hard Shoulder has 153,000 listeners, Lunchtime Live has 115,000 and Moncrieff has 105,000.
Across Bauer’s regional and local portfolio, Red FM recorded a 21.2% market share in Cork, while SPIN 1038 has a weekly reach of 253,000. iRadio, which broadcasts across 15 counties, reaches 336,000 listeners each week.
Chris Doyle, CEO of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, said leading the market across the group’s key measures represented “a significant moment” for the company.
“We are enormously proud of these results. To be leading the market on every key measure is a significant moment for Bauer Media Audio Ireland. Seeing so many record performances in one survey shows just how strongly audiences are connecting with the content we’re producing. Today FM’s result is outstanding, and it’s particularly pleasing to see Newstalk’s new schedule landing so well with listeners. Thanks go to every colleague across Bauer who has contributed to this success, together, we’re seeing huge momentum in our audio business, and that’s great news for both audiences and advertisers.’’
IRS+
IRS+ The Audio Intelligence and Creative Network recorded what it described as record national and Dublin market shares across its network of 15 independent radio stations.
The network’s national share increased to 21.4%, up 0.4 percentage points on the previous quarter and 0.6 points year-on-year.
IRS+ said its national share has increased by 5.4 percentage points over the three years since the 2023-2 survey.
In Dublin, the IRS+ network’s share has increased to 19%, up 0.3 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. The group said this represents growth of 36% over three years.
Weekly reach across the network stands at 1.41 million, an increase of 123,000 listeners, or 9.6%, since the corresponding 2023 survey and 5.5% since 2024-2.
Individual stations highlighted by IRS+ include South East Radio, which has a 42.3% share, compared with 32.8% two years ago, while KCLR has a 31% share following a 6.6 percentage-point increase in the latest quarter.
KFM has a 25.5% share, compared with 13.4% two years ago, while Sunshine 106.8 has increased from 7.2% to 10.2% over the same period.
Peter Smyth, CEO of IRS+, said the figures demonstrated the “robust performance of radio listenership in communities throughout Ireland”.
“The latest JNLR figures once again demonstrate the robust performance of radio listenership in communities throughout Ireland. Our record share achievements both nationally and in Dublin reflect an ongoing pattern of growth and loyalty that continues to build. That’s matched by our station network ambition to deliver the most engaging, entertaining content however audiences choose to consume audio.
“These days, Trust matters and there’s considerable integrity and value attached to familiar local voices as a compelling source of news, information and entertainment,” he added.
Onic Group
Onic’s portfolio recorded a national all-adult market share of just under 10%, while reaching 19.3% of adults aged 25-44 across Ireland every week.
In Dublin, Q102 recorded its third consecutive increase in market share, taking its share to 4.9%.
FM104, meanwhile, has a daily audience of 128,000. The Strawberry Alarm Clock increased its daily reach by 4,000 book-on-book.
Outside Dublin, Live 95 recorded a 25.2% all-adult market share in Limerick, up 2.1 percentage points book-on-book.
LMFM, meanwhile, has a 26.5% share of the all-adult market in Louth and Meath, while Cork stations 96FM and C103 have a combined market share of 28.5%.
Mark Cunning, Onic group content director, said the figures demonstrated “clear momentum” in a number of key markets.
“While the broader audio landscape continues to evolve, our core focus remains on continuing to deliver high-quality, local content that connects and resonates with our audiences while delivering results for our commercial partners,” he said.
Other Broadcasters
Among the other stations reporting their JNLR figures, Radio Nova reported 272,000 listeners and an 8.3% market share across Dublin city, county and the commuter belt.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio recorded the highest daily audience in its 17-year history, with 216,000 listeners tuning in each day and 379,000 listening during the week.
Its prime-time market share stands at 6.7% across its multicity franchise area, which covers Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Clare, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
Sunshine 106.8, which is also represented by IRS+, recorded an all-time high weekday market share of 10.2%. Its share rises to 10.6% on Saturdays and 13.6% on Sundays.
The More Music Drive with Carol Dooley reaches 79,000 listeners each day, while Sunshine Gold with Joe Harrington has a weekly audience of 80,000.
Sean Ashmore, CEO of Sunshine 106.8, said the figures represented an all-time high for the station across weekday and weekend listening.
“It’s a real reflection of the loyalty of our listeners and the dedication of our entire team,” he said.
Meanwhile, WLR – which is now part of dmg media- has recorded one of its strongest audience performances in recent years, with 73,000 people now tuning in every week. This is an increase of 3,000 weekly listeners compared with the same period 12 months ago and a further 1,000 listeners since the previous JNLR book. WLR’s daily reach has also climbed to 50,000 listeners, an increase of 2,000 since May.
