JNLR 2011-3 National Listenership

National Listenership of any radio stations fell to 82%. Still it’s a bad figure being just shy of three million people listening every day, but it’s certainly going in the wrong direction. The rant on this part of the web is normally the spiralling decline of the newsprint business, surely this medium is not going in the same direction.

The big talking point, again, is another decline in the listenership of 2FM. This survey see it dropping another 80,000 listners compared to the same period last year and down 153,000 over a two year period. The only reason that the combined RTE figure was in the black was because of the hard work of RTE1.

It’s no secret that the problems at 2FM are, in part, due to the untimely demise of Gerry Ryan. This is better illustrated with the quarter hour segments for 2FM throughout the day. Compare it now (the twelve months up to September 2011) to two years ago (the twelve months up to September 2010).

There really is little to add to that.  

Looking at the figures outside 2FM can be summarised in ‘nothing really happened’ as the status quo was maintained. A marginal decrease in the Today FM numbers and a likewise margional increase in Newstalk. 

I’ve a small bit to add on the National figures: I like when figures arrive because there’s normally no ambiguity to them. On the other hand, then spin-doctors move their lips, well that alone can lead to a great amount of ambiguity.

Also let it be said at the outset that paymaster are exactly that. If someone’s contract is not going to be renewed – so be it, there is no point in bitching about it (and by the same token – if the paymaster shuffles a contract over the table and it’s unsigned – don’t bolt to the Golden Arches for one reason or the other).  

If as paymasters you don’t renew a contact – you don’t – and that’s fair game. If you “spin” say that that “dropping listenership figures were the sole reason for replacing Mr Smyth” well then you can end up in the manure business.

Let’s for a moment have a look at this Sunday Schedule and see who you would have picked for the chopping block. First off Sam pulls in the biggest audience on a Sunday. Granted, he lost 13% of his listener’s year on year but the Sunday ratings look poor for Today FM.

But looking at the table, I think there were bigger fish to fry on a Sunday. But, again, it’s a Today FM management decision as to who they keep and who they let go.