RTÉ 2FM has announced that the 'Drive it with the 2 Johnnies' show will finish at the end of the month.
The popular podcasting duo, Johnny Smacks and Johnny B, joined the station in February 2022 where they hosted the afternoon show, and in a statement released on Tuesday, it was confirmed their show will end on 31 May.
It comes just weeks after Doireann Garrihy from the 2FM Breakfast Show announced she too was leaving the station at the end of this month.
So where does this leave RTÉ 2FM?
31 May sees an unprecedented day for 2FM as they say goodbye to three of their key presenters.
It is also poignantly the date on which 2FM, or Radio 2, was first unleashed onto the airwaves 45 years ago in 1979.
Doireann Garrihy - the original breakfast presenter on the current morning team line-up - announced a few weeks ago that after five years she was leaving 2FM Breakfast on this date.
Then this lunchtime, there was a bolt from the blue with the statement that the hugely popular duo, the 2 Johnnies, are leaving RTÉ 2FM on that date too, with both RTÉ and the 2 Johnnies themselves issuing statements.
The RTÉ statement quoted Head of RTÉ 2FM, Dan Healy, saying that after two "very successful years" they are leaving, adding that they "will be sad to see them go".
Mr Healy said: "The listenership for the drivetime show has been very strong from the very start and the most recent listenership results continued that trend.
He said the 2 Johnnies had been "a great part of the 2FM family" and he wished them "well as they continue their adventures".
So if people are looking for clues as to why they have suddenly decided to depart 2FM, there isn’t much there.
In that RTÉ statement too one of the duo, Johnny Smacks, thanks their colleagues and the listeners saying, "we have unreal craic".
He then leaves on an intriguing note, "and we may be back on radio someday but for now as we say on the show, we are out the gap".
"There's great people working in 2FM and we wish them all the success in the world," he said.
So, no explanations for their sudden exit, but in their own personal statement the 2 Johnnies they say that the show "goes out on a high as the most listened to show on RTÉ 2FM".
They then effusively thank their colleagues and listeners and go on to list a long and impressive roll call of their upcoming projects and clearly, they have a busy schedule ahead in the coming months.
To their credit, the 2 Johnnies are recognised as self-made, successful and busy presenters with a huge following.
It was this profile which drew 2FM bosses to them in the first place, and reading the list of plans ahead, they are getting bigger and bigger.
Their schedule includes events such as a world tour encompassing America and Australia, along with their own festival at St Anne’s Park in Dublin and then a mention of their podcast, which they describe as the country’s number one on Spotify, so it’s easy to see how the daily commitment of a drivetime show is a stretch.
While they have been a key part of 2FM's output for the last two years though, it was not all plain sailing for them at the national broadcaster.
In their first week on-air, they got into hot water for having published a crude and "offensive" video about women on their social media pages before their first 2FM show.
The video, which was posted on social media and was then subsequently deleted, showed the 2 Johnnies reading out vulgar car stickers sent into them by listeners of their podcast as part of the promotion for their new 2FM show.
In a statement at the time, they subsequently apologised for the content. They were welcomed back on-air by bosses and since then, have grown and grown their radio audience.
But what does this all mean for 2FM bosses?
Going back to the RTÉ Statement, while everyone on 2FM says they wish them luck, there is no doubt this is a major blow for the schedule and a major headache for management.
On music stations and commercial stations the received wisdom is that the pillar slots are the Breakfast slot (which carries its own industry phrase, 'win breakfast, win the day'), and the Drive Time slot, which is now on uncertain ground.
Look across the schedule, and there is another gap too.
Having been absent for some weeks now, listeners could be forgiven for getting curious about presenter Jennifer Zamparelli’s plans at the station.
She presents the mid-morning show (the old Gerry Ryan show) which broadcasts daily from 9am to 12pm.
RTÉ News asked about Ms Zamparelli’s absence from the airwaves and RTÉ confirmed that the presenter "is on leave".
They also say that they will be announcing the RTÉ 2FM summer schedule shortly, so while they are trying to move the pieces to fill that jigsaw, having gaps in those key shows is a headache now.
But why now?
All of this taking place against a background where last week’s JNLR listenership figures saw RTÉ 2FM weekly reach increase by +77,000 YOY (year-on-year) to 764,000.
All the pop tunes in the world can't mask the fact that the controversy over RTÉ presenter pay and commercial activities which came into focus in the last 12 months must be having an impact on high-profile presenters.
There has been a sea change in the culture around commercial activities in RTÉ over the last year, and when one considers the successful, varied and lucrative careers of people like the 2 Johnnies outside of RTÉ, it is totally fair to ask if the new restrictions and the new structures around presenters and their commercial activities is having a huge effect on these presenters and their future plans?
Under the new rules, from January, a Register of Interests and a Register of External Activities were launched for RTÉ staff.
RTÉ requires certain staff and contractors to make an annual return under the Register of Interests and it will be published on a quarterly basis.
These rules apply across the Content and News and Current Affairs divisions and introduces a process of approval for external activities.
RTÉ intends to publish details of approved activities on a quarterly basis and will include the name of the person, summary details of the activity approved and any payment or benefit in a banded system.
So, it is worth considering that these new rules are making presenters think twice about their level of commitment to RTÉ?
Is 2fm facing a new commercial reality now? People may have been used to seeing RTÉ creating the stars and household names, but in a media landscape where traditional, linear broadcasting is fighting for continuing relevance, and influencers, brand ambassadors or people managing their own content directly themselves can claim the spotlight now, can broadcasters like 2fm really call the shots any more?
One can only wait and 'hear' what’s next on the RTÉ 2FM airwaves.
