He recently parted ways with UTV Ireland and now Pat Kenny’s Newstalk show could be scrapped in the New Year to revamp the broadcaster.
According to reports, station bosses are said to be concerned at his latest listener figures that stalled at around 134,000 earlier this year.
Incoming chief executive Tim Collins is allegedly to make a decision on the future of his show until after the general election.
“It’s no secret that the figures for Pat’s show haven’t been what was expected when he was brought over but they had hoped for a better return,” a source said.
Newstalk: Pat’s Newstalk show is reportedly in the firing line | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Pat is a brilliant broadcaster but the figures haven’t been anywhere near good enough.
“The previous show wasn’t performing and Pat brought in thousands of listeners in the first year, but you have to consider that they spent a lot of money on the show,” the insider told the Sun.
“There was a massive ad campaign announcing it — possibly the most money the station has spent on a campaign before — and they have regularly had high profile guests on.
“The bare minimum that had been expected was an average of 200,000, and it’s not even close to that,” they added.
Delay: According to sources no decision will be made until after the general election
“There are also concerns that it attracts less than half of Sean O’Rourke’s RTE Radio 1 audience and there will be talks about the show’s future direction in the coming weeks.
“Pat signed a massive deal worth €3million over five years and he’s the highest paid presenter by some way, so it’s only natural that they will look at what isn’t working. The figures haven’t been up to scratch,” the source admitted.
According to the paper, the former Late Late Show host yesterday claimed he was unaware of his show possibly facing the axe.
“In the New Year we’ll be concentrating on the general election so it will be different in that sense,” he said.
