Oliver Callan has gained 25,000 listeners over the past year and now commands an audience of 355,000 on weekday mornings, according to the latest JNLR figures from Ipsos MRBI.

The comedian's weekday morning programme on RTÉ Radio 1 now has 8,000 more listeners than in the 12 months to September 2023, the period during which Ryan Tubridy departed from the national broadcaster and vacated the 9am slot.

Morning Ireland added 2,000 listeners in the surveyed period of April 2024 to March 2025, bringing the audience for Radio 1's flagship current affairs programme to 471,000.

The Brendan O'Connor Show also remains popular with audiences of 369,000 on Sunday and 363,000 on Saturday, representing gains of 14,000 and 11,000, respectively, from this time last year.

The releases also show significant gains for Today with Claire Byrne (+7,000 to 348,000), Liveline with Joe Duffy (+6,000 to 307,000), the Ray D'Arcy Show (+11,000 to 192,000) and Drivetime (+1,000 to 221,000).

Listenership for The Business on Saturday mornings declined 4,000 to 320,000 though.

"This is another solid book for RTÉ Radio 1, re-affirming our position as the most-listened-to station in the country," said Tara Campbell, head of RTÉ Radio 1.

"We've seen particularly strong performances across many of our weekday and weekend morning programmes and we're now the top destination for listeners aged 35 to 54.

"I want to acknowledge the hard work of our talented presenters and production teams in the breadth of content they offer our audiences everyday across news and current affairs, music, drama, entertainment and sport.” 

On 2FM, 2FM Drive with Doireann Garrihy has 133,000 listeners, losing 18,000 listeners from this time last year when 151,000 were regularly tuning into The 2 Johnnies.

2FM Breakfast, which Garrihy and Donncha O'Callaghan left last year has added 5,000 listeners and now has an audience of 148,0000. Elsewhere, Marty in the Morning on Lyric FM added 17,000 listeners, bringing its audience to 71,000.

Patricia Monahan, director of audio for RTÉ, said: "RTÉ Radio 1 is the most popular station in Ireland, reaching 1.3 million listeners every week, and has grown its share of 35–54-year-olds, outperforming all other stations in that demographic. 

"RTÉ 2FM retains its position as the most-listened-to by 15–34-year-olds, now reaching 714,000 listeners every week.

"RTÉ Lyric Fm builds on a consistent period of growth, reaching 320,000 listeners every week."

Away from Montrose, Bauer Media Audio Ireland now claims a weekly reach of 2.26m and a daily reach of 1.53m listeners across its portfolio of stations, which include Newstalk, Today FM and 98FM.

The Pat Kenny Show (224,000), the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show (204,000) and Dave Moore (193,000), which all air on Bauer stations, are the only three non-RTÉ programmes in the top 20 most popular radio stations.

"With the biggest audience of any radio group in Ireland, we are proud to be recognised as an influential and trusted source of news and entertainment," said Chris Doyle, CEO of Bauer Media Audio Ireland.

"It is particularly pleasing to see continued audience growth at our stations across the country, further solidifying our position as the clear audience leader among Under 55s.

"This success is a testament to the dedication and creativity of our incredible team across the group, their hard work continues to drive our momentum and creativity.

"The results reinforce our ability to connect advertisers with highly engaged and desirable audiences”

The latest results show 3.47m listeners tune into radio every weekday, equivalent to 79.7% of all adults. Listening levels in the past week increased to 90.4% of the population.

Speaking about the latest figures, Michael Kelly, Chief Executive of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, said: “Ireland’s love affair with radio continues, with more listeners than ever.

"Today’s figures prove the strength of radio as a medium, which is highly-trusted and valued by listeners of all ages and which delivers massive benefits for society.  

"Radio has a unique connection to listeners. It is responsive, interactive, and flexible for advertisers and listeners. 

"Radio delivers news and current affairs, music and entertainment, discussion of issues, sports coverage, emergency information, conversation and banter, and much more.”

Photo: Oliver Callan. (Pic: RTÉ)