RTÉ the big JNLR ratings winners once more

The national broadcaster's stranglehold on radio listeners countrywide showed no signs of abating today, as the latest JNLR figures were released. RTÉ Radio 1 is top again, with 18 of the top 20 radio shows and 1,885,000 people now listening each week.

Key to this was the continued strength of Morning Ireland, with 456,000 listeners each morning, and the impressive display from Derek Mooney, who added 23,000 to 234,000 and jumped four places.

There were also gains for the likes of Pat Kenny and Miriam O'Callaghan, as well as the station's arts coverage.

In the battle for second place, RTÉ 2fm once again triumphed over main competitors Today Fm. The new additions and changes made to the morning schedule have been a particular success.

Ryan Tubridy narrowly edges out Ray D'Arcy in the quarter hour average (133,000 to 132,000), whilst Hector's appointment as host of the breakfast show has reaped substantial rewards, as he added 4,000 listeners.

Moving a little later into the day, John Clarke deserves to be congratulated on gaining 13,000 listeners for Ireland's Biggest Jukebox. Turns out everyone isn't abandoning radio for their iPhones just yet.

Head of RTÉ 2fm, John McMahon, was clearly delighted with the showing.

“We’ve had some really encouraging signals in these figures, with many of the new shows on 2fm growing audience very soon into their run," he says. "Hector is flying and we’re delighted the West is awake every morning."

McMahon also spoke of a station still coming to terms with great loss of Gerry Ryan.
 
"Ryan Tubridy and Colm Hayes are making great programmes that speak to huge audiences every single day. It’s just a year since 2fm lost our great friend and broadcaster Gerry Ryan, and while his shoes can never be filled, these two new shows on 2fm have the unenviable task of filling that airtime, a task they’re tackling with great relish.

"We know it takes time for radio listeners to adjust to changes of this magnitude but we’re very confident we have the right presenters for the job in Ryan and Colm.”

Apart from the two at the top, there were noteworthy results from the likes of Q102, who continue to snap at the heels of FM104 and 98FM, and in Cork, where 96/103FM continue to dominate with a 69% market reach.

Elsewhere, new kid on the block Radio Nova has come out of the traps remarkably well. The station now has 122,000 weekly listeners and recorded more than half the weekly audience for Q102 between October 2010 and March of this year.

"We're delighted with these latest figures", said Kevin Branigan, CEO at Radio Nova. "Not only are we scoring very strongly against the national stations, we have also performed exceptionally well against the long-established Dublin radio stations."