The latest radio listnership figures have shown a drop of one per cent in RTE Radio One's audience share. The statistics for 1998 show that 55 per cent of all adults listen to Radio One at some stage everyday, down 1 per cent. For 2FM the share also dipped by single per cent to 33 per cent. However, the JNLR/MRBI figures also show that 2FM has increased its share from 12% to 14% in Cork.
The figures are for 1998, so they do not take into account changes to the Radio One schedule following Gay Byrne's retirement, when Marian Finucane moved into the 9am slot and Joe Duffy took over on Liveline but they do show an increased audience between 9am and lunchtime. At lunchtime, the News at One is down slightly, at 359,000 listeners, while the extended Liveline reaches almost 400,000 people.
The JNLR/MRBI figures show that Today FM's share is up two at 11 per cent. The figures also show a gain for Eamon Dunphy's Last Word programme on Today FM with 130,000 listeners tuning in. However, this is still less than the 200,000 people who listen to 5-7 live on Radio one everyday. Almost 800,000 adults tune in each weekday to 2FM, including half a million 20 to 44 year-olds, and 400,000 listeners tune into Gerry Ryan every morning. However, golden oldie DJ Larry Gogan is still king of the pop airwaves - his lunchtime show is the most popular music programme in the country.
The IRTC's chief executive Michael O'Keefe has said he is pleased at the one per cent gain by independent local stations to 52 per cent and particularly satisfied with the performance of Today FM. RTE's Director of Radio, Helen Shaw, said she is "more than pleased" with the underlying trends, especially in a period of aggressive competition on the airwaves.
