Radio remains central to daily life in Ireland. According to the latest JNLR/Ipsos survey, the benchmark for radio audience measurement in the country, 3,483,000 adults listen to radio on an average weekday, or 77.6% of people aged 15 and over. Over a week, the audience reaches 3,992,000 listeners, a reach of 89%. The figures cover October 2025 to September 2026 and are compared with the previous survey, published in August.
A remarkably stable audience
The change is minimal: daily listening is down by around 13,000 people from the 3,496,000 listeners recorded in August. The survey is a rolling 12-month study, which naturally smooths out changes from one release to the next. Another notable finding: local and regional stations account for 53.4% of listening time, a sign that proximity remains a powerful driver in Ireland.
Bauer and RTÉ neck and neck
Among groups, Bauer Media Audio Ireland remains the country's largest radio player, with 2.29 million listeners a week and 1.53 million every day. Its eight-station portfolio includes Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, SPIN 1038, SPIN South West, Red FM, iRadio and Beat. Its primetime market share rises from 29.46% to 29.59%. Public broadcaster RTÉ reaches almost two million people a week and reports an overall market share of 28.3%, up from 28.2%, although the two groups use different measures.
- RTÉ Radio 1 remains the most-listened-to station, with 1,365,000 weekly listeners (+11,000) and a 19.3% market share;
- Newstalk grows from 855,000 to 882,000 weekly listeners, and its market share climbs from 7.8% to 8.3%;
- Today FM adds 2,000 weekly listeners to reach 976,000, with a 9.9% market share;
- RTÉ 2FM attracts 676,000 listeners a week and RTÉ lyric fm 353,000.
Independents win over younger listeners
The IRS+ independent radio network, which brings together 15 stations, holds a 21.4% share of national listening and reaches 1.41 million people each week. Above all, its weekly reach among 15 to 34-year-olds is up 7% year on year, to 336,000 listeners. Among its members, KCLR, which serves Kilkenny and Carlow, has grown its weekly reach by 22% year on year to 72,000 listeners, and its local market share has climbed from 31% to 35.4%. Meanwhile, Irish-owned Bay Broadcasting claims a combined 834,000 weekly listeners for its four stations, including Classic Hits Radio, which gains 10,000 listeners to reach 389,000.
What it means for webradios
The Irish example is a reminder that radio remains a mass medium when it stays close to its audience. Several lessons apply to a webradio:
- proximity pays: with more than half of listening time going to local and regional stations, a clear local or community identity remains a decisive asset;
- young people are not lost to radio, as long as they are offered programming and voices that reflect them, as the growth of IRS+ among 15 to 34-year-olds shows;
- the stability of large audiences leaves little room for generalist formats: a webradio has every interest in focusing on a musical or thematic niche that no major station covers.
Finally, these results show the value of regular, clear audience measurement. For a webradio, closely tracking online listening statistics is a way to prove its value to advertisers, just as Irish stations do with every new survey.
Source: RadioToday Ireland