Overall there was a minor drop in listenership nationally, well within statistical error and certainly not to trouble with this issue any further. National listenership remained at a healthy 83% or 3,001,000 people daily.
Focussing on the stations, the clear winner on the national stage was RTE1 in this book, with a year on year increase of 64,000 listeners (8%) and a book on book gain of 32,000 or 4%.
The veneer of 2FM’s number year on year, holding steady at 374,000, is very much tarnished when we see their more recent past. Their book on book figure has them down 20,000 or -5% on the quarter.
Today FM have been caught in a narrow band of listenership for some time but the numbers for 2015 show them having firmly broken out of that – except in the wrong direction. Year on year sees them back 23,000 or -5% and book on book shows them down 16,000 or 4%.
Newstalk was steady – but it’s possibly an adjective they don’t wish to associate with their efforts. From the beginning of 2013 they had nothing but a near meteoric rise in their listening figures, but the jets have cooled of late and a gain of 4,000 year on year and a drop of 6,000 book on book is not what they were hoping for.
| Year on Year | Book On Book | |||||||||||||
| Station | 15Q4 | 14Q3 | +/- | +/- | Ch | 15Q2 | +/- | +/- | Ch | |||||
| Any Radio | 83% | 3001 | 84% | 3006 | -1% | -5 | 0% | 83% | 3004 | 0% | -3 | 0% | ||
| Any National | 46% | 1649 | 46% | 1642 | 0% | 7 | 0% | 46% | 1652 | 0% | -3 | 0% | ||
| RTE Radio 1 | 25% | 900 | 23% | 836 | 2% | 64 | 8% | 24% | 868 | 1% | 32 | 4% | ||
| RTE 2FM | 10% | 374 | 10% | 375 | 0% | -1 | 0% | 11% | 394 | -1% | -20 | -5% | ||
| RTE Lyric FM | 4% | 138 | 4% | 137 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 4% | 134 | 0% | 4 | 3% | ||
| Today FM | 12% | 437 | 13% | 460 | -1% | -23 | -5% | 13% | 453 | -1% | -16 | -4% | ||
| Newstalk | 11% | 396 | 11% | 392 | 0% | 4 | 1% | 11% | 402 | 0% | -6 | -1% | ||
| Home Local Station | 42% | 1516 | 43% | 1534 | -1% | -18 | -1% | 42% | 1522 | 0% | -6 | 0% | ||
| Regional/Local | 7% | 269 | 8% | 278 | -1% | -9 | -3% | 8% | 273 | -1% | -4 | -1% | ||
Note: The +/- above are absolute: RTE1 added 2% points from 23% to 25%. It added 64,000 listeners which is an 8% increase (ch).
| 15Q4 | 15Q3 | 15Q2 | 15Q1 | 14Q4 | 14Q3 | 14Q2 | ||||||||
| Any Radio | 3001 | 83% | 3004 | 83% | 3007 | 84% | 3009 | 84% | 3006 | 84% | 2986 | 83% | 2982 | 83% |
| Any National | 1649 | 46% | 1652 | 46% | 1657 | 46% | 1670 | 46% | 1642 | 46% | 1638 | 46% | 1641 | 46% |
| Any RTE Radio | 1257 | 35% | 1247 | 35% | 1252 | 35% | 1241 | 35% | 1214 | 34% | 1212 | 34% | 1216 | 34% |
| Any RTE1/2FM/Lyric | 1242 | 34% | 1231 | 34% | 1235 | 34% | 1217 | 34% | 1193 | 33% | 1191 | 33% | 1195 | 33% |
| RTE Radio 1 | 900 | 25% | 868 | 24% | 863 | 24% | 843 | 23% | 836 | 23% | 837 | 23% | 849 | 24% |
| RTE 2FM | 374 | 10% | 394 | 11% | 402 | 11% | 400 | 11% | 375 | 10% | 366 | 10% | 366 | 10% |
| RTE Lyric FM | 138 | 4% | 134 | 4% | 131 | 4% | 138 | 4% | 137 | 4% | 142 | 4% | 138 | 4% |
| Today FM | 437 | 12% | 453 | 13% | 457 | 13% | 476 | 13% | 460 | 13% | 463 | 13% | 458 | 13% |
| Newstalk | 396 | 11% | 402 | 11% | 401 | 11% | 404 | 11% | 392 | 11% | 376 | 10% | 365 | 10% |
| Region/Local/M-City | 2088 | 58% | 2090 | 58% | 2071 | 58% | 2078 | 58% | 2102 | 58% | 2066 | 58% | 2054 | 57% |
| Home Local Station | 1516 | 42% | 1522 | 42% | 1521 | 42% | 1515 | 42% | 1534 | 43% | 1501 | 42% | 1497 | 42% |
| Regional/Local Station | 269 | 7% | 273 | 8% | 260 | 7% | 272 | 8% | 278 | 8% | 272 | 8% | 266 | 7% |
Shares
RTE1 added a valuable 1.6% share over the year and .8% book on book. 2FM were level year on year and down .3% book on book. Today lost 1.1% in 2105 over 2014 and it dropped .3% in the last quarter. Newstalk were relatively steady gaining and losing year on year and book on book respectively.
| Year On Year | Book on Book | ||||
| Station | 15Q4 | 14Q4 | +/- | 15Q3 | +/- |
| Any Radio | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% |
| Any National | 46.10% | 45.70% | 0.40% | 46.00% | 0.10% |
| Any RTE Radio | 32.10% | 30.60% | 1.50% | 31.50% | 0.60% |
| Any RTE1/2FM/Lyric | 31.60% | 29.90% | 1.70% | 31.00% | 0.60% |
| RTE Radio 1 | 23.10% | 21.50% | 1.60% | 22.30% | 0.80% |
| RTE 2FM | 6.50% | 6.50% | 0.00% | 6.80% | -0.30% |
| RTE Lyric FM | 2.00% | 1.90% | 0.10% | 1.90% | 0.10% |
| Today FM | 7.60% | 8.70% | -1.10% | 7.90% | -0.30% |
| Newstalk | 6.50% | 6.40% | 0.10% | 6.60% | -0.10% |
| Any Region/Local/M-City | 53.90% | 54.30% | -0.40% | 54.00% | -0.10% |
| Home Local Station | 39.30% | 39.20% | 0.10% | 39.50% | -0.20% |
| Other Regional/Local Station | 4.40% | 5.00% | -0.60% | 4.20% | 0.20% |
