A huge shift towards more normal work patterns and a return to the office could account for RTÉ Radio 1’s recent slump in listenership.
In what has been dubbed a “relocation” by Radio 1 boss Peter Woods, all of its weekday programs have lost listeners, the latest figures from Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) show.
Many of the Radio 1 shows that have seen a huge upswing during the various lockdowns are now adjusting to a more normal pattern in terms of listening habits.
Tomorrow Ireland has lost 22,000 listeners compared to August 2022 and now has 451,000 viewers, while Ryan Tubridy lost 25,000 for his one-hour slot and is now at 344,000.
Claire Byrne’s show is down 19,000 from 331,000 in the latest poll, while News at One stands at 325,000, down 9,000. Joe Duffys live line had a slight drop from 11,000 and is now at 321,000.
The Ray D’Arcy afternoon show has fallen 18,000 to 179,000 – one of the lowest numbers for that slot in 10 years.
When asked about the break-in, Mr Woods said they “have to look at this programme”.
“We recently changed the production team. It has one of the best series producers and also one of the best new producers,” he said.
“We got two new excellent researchers, so we would pay more attention to the structure of the program than to the content. That’s where we think we probably need to go with it.
On the overall drop in listeners during the week, Mr Woods said many people are now back to work and no longer listen to the radio all day.
“Programs have failed, but this is the universe we are in. I don’t see any significant gains at any of the other stations across the board. Our audience is, by definition, larger,” he said.
“If we look at the pre-Covid numbers we are still in a better place than we were. Overall, fewer people are listening. People are adjusting and getting back to work.”
The Ronan Collins show, meanwhile, is down 10,000 to 232,000 driving time stands at 212,000, down from 216,000.
The news is better when it comes to Radio 1’s weekend programming, with Brendan O’Connor’s Sunday show up 4,000 to 345,000 while his Saturday show is down 2,000 to 344,000.
These numbers are similar to those attracted by the late Marian Finucane during her long tenure on the program.
Miriam O’Callaghan’s Sunday spot is down 8,000 and is now at 331,000, but six weeks of the period examined contained a summer documentary series. The county measure.
There was a similar trend on 2fm where Jennifer Zamparelli’s show was down 7k to 131k.
Tracy Clifford’s afternoon show is down 7k to 120k while there was no change for The 2 Johnnys Slot at 122,000. Is against the trend breakfastwhich gained 1,000 listeners and is now at 124,000.
The results were mixed for Newstalk, either The Pat Kenny Show by 7,000 to 177,000 during Live at noon is down 3,000 to 108,000.
Newstalk breakfast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman has gained 1,000 listeners while up to 147,000 Moncrieff gained 3,000 listeners to 90,000. The Hard Shoulder has increased by 1,000 to 156,000.
On the weekends, off the ball his Saturday show grew by 19,000 to 143,000. On Sunday it rose by 22,000 to 153,000.
Today, FM has retained its title as the most popular commercial station with a 9.1 percent market share. Ray Foley hits the right notes, adding 6k to his afternoon to sit at 149k
Ian Dempsey, whose show now runs from 6am to 9am, fell 2,000 to 199,000.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/return-to-office-blamed-as-rte-radio-1-listeners-tune-out-during-the-day-42135826.html Returning to the office accused of turning off RTÉ Radio 1 listeners during the day
