Almost nine in 10 adults in Ireland listen to radio each week, with nearly 3.5 million tuning in on an average day, according to the latest JNLR figures which are compiled by Ipsos B&A.
The JNLR/Ipsos 2026-3 report, covering October 2025 to September 2026, puts radio’s weekly audience at 3.992 million, equivalent to 89% of the population aged 15 and over. Daily listening stands at 3.483 million, or 77.6%.
Among those who tune in, average daily listening between 7am and midnight amounts to 233 minutes while listeners use an average of 1.5 stations each day.
The figures show radio’s reach across age groups, with 891,000 people aged 15–34 listening daily, representing 64.6% of that audience. Among adults aged 35 and over, daily reach stands at 2.592 million, or 83.3%.
According to the Ipsos B&A figures, younger listeners spend an average of two hours and 54 minutes with radio each day, compared with four hours and 13 minutes among listeners aged 35 and over.
Traditional radio sets continue to account for most listening, although 542,000 people access radio through a digital platform daily.
AM/FM listening at home or in the car accounts for 87.8% of time spent listening to Irish stations between 7am and midnight. Smart speakers account for 7.9%, followed by mobile devices at 2.9%, computers at 1% and television sets at 0.5%.
Digital platforms account for a larger proportion of listening among 15–34-year-olds. Within that age group, smart speakers represent 9.8% of listening time, while mobile devices account for 6.8% and computers for 2.4%. AM/FM remains the principal platform, accounting for 80.8%.
According to Ciarán Cunningham, CEO of Radiocentre Ireland: “ One of radio’sgreatest strengths is its ability to reach across generations. We often hear about how difficult it has become to reach younger audiences, yet almost 900,000 people aged 15–34 are listening to radio every weekday. With 78% of all adults listening every weekday, including 83% of adults aged 35 and over, 80% of main shoppers and 76% of ABC1 adults, radio delivers exceptional reach across all age groups and demographics. Very few media can match that combination of scale and breadth of audience.
“For advertisers, this reach is particularly important because attracting new customers is fundamental to brand growth. And we now have compelling evidence that audio not only delivers enormous audiences but also makes advertising more effective,” he said.
“At our recent Sounding Out conference, Professor Mark Ritson presented international research showing that advertising campaigns incorporating audio were 22% more effective overall than campaigns without audio. These findings reinforce why audio deserves greater investment from advertisers. At a time when audiences have more media choices than ever before, radio connects with people of all ages. That combination of enormous reach and advertising effectiveness makes radio an exceptionally powerful medium for brands looking to grow,” Cunningham concluded.
For the country’s leading commercial and public service broadcasters, the latest JNLR was a mixed bag in terms gains and losses for their weekly and daily losses although, collectively Bauer Media Audio Ireland held on to its recently crowned title as Ireland’s largest radio group with a weekly reach of 2.29m listeners while RTÉ 1 remains Ireland’s most listened-to station.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland
Bauer said it remained Ireland’s largest radio group, reaching 2.29 million listeners weekly and 1.53m daily, with a prime-time market share of 29.59%.
According to the lates JNLR book, Today FM increased its weekly audience by 2,000 to 976,000 and its daily reach by 3,000 to 527,000. Its market share stood at 9.9%, down 0.1 percentage points on the previous survey but up 1.1 points year on year.
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show reached a record 245,000 listeners, up 5,000, recording its seventh successive survey increase. The station said it remained the most listened-to programme on Irish commercial radio.
Dempsey said: “245,000 people listening to us in the morning – that’s a lot of people to be sharing the breakfast table with! We’re over the moon to see more and more listeners join our morning show every time. Thanks to everyone for choosing to start their day with us. Our listeners are nothing short of phenomenal”
Elsewhere Alison Curtis’s Saturday Weekend Breakfast programme passed 200,000 listeners for the first time, rising by 16,000 to 204,000 while Ben Murray’s Saturday audience increased by 22,000 to 190,000.
The Last Word with Matt Cooper was unchanged at 195,000. Dave Moore fell by 6,000 to 205,000, Louise Cantillon declined by 2,000 to 132,000 and Ray Foley slipped by 1,000 to 178,000. The evening programme presented by Dave and Fionnuala added 6,000 listeners to reach 44,000.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland chief executive Chris Doyle said: “With 2.29 million people choosing our stations every week, Bauer offers advertisers an unrivalled combination of scale, trusted brands and highly engaged audiences.”
It was also a good book for Newstalk which recorded its highest weekly reach at 882,000, up 27,000. Daily reach also rose by 27,000 to 511,000, while market share increased by 0.5 percentage points to 8.3%.
Elsewhere, The Claire Byrne Show added 12,000 listeners to reach 222,000. The Hard Shoulder, presented by Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman, rose by 17,000 to 170,000, while Lunchtime Live increased by 11,000 to 126,000 and Moncrieff gained 8,000 to 113,000. However, Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage slipped by 1,000 to 167,000.
At weekends, Pat Kenny’s Saturday programme rose by 8,000 to 175,000 and his Sunday show added 12,000 to reach 134,000. Sunday’s Off The Ball gained 29,000 to 162,000, while Tech Talk with Jess Kelly increased by 10,000 to 101,000 on Saturdays.
Newstalk managing editor Eric Moylan said: “These are excellent figures. It clearly shows that the new schedule is landing with the public. We have more people tuning in across the entire week than ever before in the station’s history. Enormous credit must go to our hard-working teams behind the scenes. They are creating great radio that is being expertly delivered by our stellar presenters.”
Elsewhere in Bauer’s portfolio, SPIN 1038 reached 242,000 listeners weekly in Dublin while 98FM recorded a weekly audience of 176,000, with its Big Breakfast programme reaching 36,000 listeners.
Cork’s Red FM reached 157,000 listeners weekly. Breakfast with KC gained 3,000 to reach 50,000, while The Neil Prendeville Show recorded 78,000 listeners.
Finally, iRadio reached 328,000 listeners weekly, with its breakfast programme adding 5,000 to reach 79,000. Beat recorded a weekly audience of 171,000, while SPIN South West reached 155,000 listeners weekly and its drivetime programme with Eoghain Fitz gained 6,000 to reach 54,000.
RTÉ
The latest JNLR book shows that RTÉ Radio 1 increased its weekly reach by 11,000 to 1.365m while it held on to its strong market share of 19.3%.
Morning Ireland added 7,000 listeners to reach 464,000, while Liveline with Kieran Cuddihy gained 14,000 to 268,000. Today with David McCullagh slipped by 1,000 to 421,000, Oliver Callan fell by 2,000 to 283,000 and News at One declined by 2,000 to 271,000.
Meanwhile, Drivetime with Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin lost 9,000 listeners to stand at 202,000, while Inside Sport gained 5,000 to reach 88,000.
At weekends, Brendan O’Connor’s Saturday programme added 11,000 listeners to reach 411,000, although his Sunday audience fell by 8,000 to 391,000. Countrywide rose by 27,000 to 257,000, The Business added 9,000 to reach 351,000 and Playback gained 9,000 to 315,000. Sunday Miscellany, meanwhile, increased by 10,000 to 289,000, while Sunday with Miriam rose by 5,000 to 322,000.
The latest book also shows that RTÉ 2FM reached 676,000 listeners weekly and increased daily reach by 8,000 to 333,000, with a market share of 4.8%. Breakfast with Carl, Roz and Aisling gained 14,000 to reach 189,000, while the afternoon programme with Demi and Mikey added 3,000 to 102,000.
Over at RTÉ lyric fm, its weekly reach fell by 5,000 to 353,000, with market share holding at 3.5%. Marty in the Morning gained 7,000 to reach 92,000 and Sunday Afternoon with Simon Delaney added 8,000 to 74,000.
IRS+
IRS+ said it remained Ireland’s third-largest radio network, with a national listening share of 21.4%, unchanged on the previous survey and up 0.8 percentage points year on year.
Its network reached 1.41m listeners weekly, up 12,000 year on year while it weekly audience among 15 to 34-year-olds increased by 7% over the year, from 314,000 to 336,000.
It was a strong book for KCLR which recorded a weekly reach of 72,000, up 22% year on year, and a local listening share of 35.4%. The station’s share increased by 4.4 percentage points on the previous survey and 11.6 points year on year. IRS+ described both its reach and share as records.
Elsewhere, Radio Nova reached 277,000 listeners weekly, up 3.4% year on year. Its listening share increased by 0.5 percentage points on the previous survey to 8.8%.
IRS+ chief executive Peter Smyth said: “Congratulations to KCLR and Radio Nova for a great result and to all our station partners and listeners who are a very important part of our success.
“As Ireland’s leading advocate for the power of local voices on-air and with iconic radio brands in our portfolio, we’re delighted with these results. They are part of a growth story we’re building, inviting our listeners to join us for longer parts of their day and in whatever form they consume audio.”
Onic
Meanwhile, Onic reported growth for Q102 in Dublin, where Kathryn Thomas’s breakfast programme reached 39,000 daily listeners, up 2,000 on the previous survey and 9,000 year on year. The group said this was the station’s highest breakfast reach in more than a decade.
Q102’s market share increased by 0.2 percentage points on the previous survey and 0.8 points year on year. FM104, meanwhile, recorded a market share of 6.1%.
Away from the capital, Live 95 in Limerick recorded a prime-time share of 29.5%, while LMFM held its prime-time share at 26.5%. In Cork, 96FM increased its market share by 0.2 percentage points to 14.8%, while C103 recorded 12.5%. The two Cork stations reached a combined 175,000 listeners weekly.
The Onic Urban National Package, which includes partner stations Galway Bay FM and WLR, reached more than 885,000 listeners each week.
Onic group content director Mark Cunning said: “This book has some really positive stories for Onic and that’s down to the great people who create great, engaging content across our brands. The standout story this time around is Q102’s continued growth in a difficult and crowded Dublin market. Kathryn Thomas is delivering the station’s highest breakfast reach in 10 years on The Kathryn Thomas Breakfast Show.”
