Oliver Callan has come out on top at RTÉ Radio 1, one year after replacing the slot Ryan Tubridy once hosted.
The latest JNLR listenership figures for the 12 months to the end of December 2024 have been released, revealing an increase in audience figures compared to the last report.
The station’s 9-10am slot was renamed The Oliver Callan Show in January 2024 when the comedian officially took over.
After his first full year on air, Oliver now has an audience of 349,000 according to latest JNLR report – an increase of 13,000 for the last report.
While at the helm, Ryan Tubridy maintained an average audience of over 340,000 for the past number of years.
At the end of 2021, The Ryan Tubridy Show recorded an audience of 359,000, and in 2022 the JNLR report revealed he had 344,000 listeners.
The broadcaster previously hosted RTÉ Radio 1’s coveted 9-10am slot, but was pulled from the airwaves last June when the payments scandal erupted.
RTÉ was plunged into chaos in June 2023 when it was revealed that Ryan’s salary had been understated by €345k over six years.
While the presenter was set to return to the station that September, contract negotiations broke down between him and RTÉ – and he lost his radio show for good.
Ryan has subsequently landed a new show with Virgin Radio UK, which he moved to London for in January.
Renamed The Nine O’Clock Show, Ryan’s old RTÉ Radio 1 slot was helmed by a rotation of guest presenters until Oliver Callan was announced as Ryan’s official replacement in January.
His new morning programme, The Oliver Callan Show, kicked off on January 29th, 2024.
Both Claire Byrne and Louise Duffy have also seen an increase in listenership this JNLR report.
Claire now has an audience of 349,000, an increase of 7,000 from last report.
While Louise has had an up of 5,000 with an audience of 228,000.
Speaking on the latest figures, Patricia Monahan, Director of Audio, RTÉ said: “This is a great result for RTÉ positioning us as the most listened to radio group in Ireland and demonstrating the reach and relevance of our services to Irish audiences.’
“RTÉ Radio 1 now reaches 1.3 million listeners every week with gains of 24,000 listeners year-on-year. RTÉ 2FM has a weekly reach of 769,000, an increase of 29,000 listeners year-on-year. RTÉ lyric fm now reaches 323,000 listeners every week. ”
We are privileged that so many people choose to engage with our stations and are particularly delighted to welcome an increase in 15 to 34-year-old listeners across all our services.”
“RTÉ Radio 1 remains the most popular station in Ireland with audience gains throughout the day and weekend, 2fm is now the leading station for 15 to 34-year-olds and we will continue to deliver engaging and entertaining content for that audience as we bring our new 2FM schedule to air in the coming weeks. Meanwhile on lyric fm the combination of new voices and lyric fm stalwarts is clearly resonating with audience as it continues to grow.”
