JNLR listenership figures released today reveal that Beat's flagship morning programme, Beat Breakfast, now has its biggest audience since the station launched back in 2003.
The fast-paced morning show, hosted by Niall, Vinny and Trish, now reaches 46,000 people every day. Meanwhile, the Saturday edition of the programme has increased its audience by 69% in 12 months.
Beat Breakfast presenter and Head of Station Sound Niall Power says "As part of one of Ireland's longest running morning shows, I often ponder whether people might be getting sick of you! So, it's somewhat of a relief and a joy to see our audience reach its highest number ever. I've always believed we have a special relationship with our listeners- we care about them and they're passionate in return about us. I'm so grateful that ever-increasing numbers are choosing to give us their time and company every day!"
The latest JNLR/IPSOS/MRBI survey also reveals that:
- Beat's Average Quarter Hour audience has increased from 15,500 to 17,300 in the last year.
- The station has seen increases in its daily audience, weekly audience and market share since the last results three months ago.
- In the target audience of 15-34 year-olds, Beat has more listeners in the South East daily (58,000) than 2FM (19,000), Today FM (17,000), Newstalk (6,000) and Radio 1 (6,000) combined!
- Beat remains the top choice for weekend listeners in the South East with big increases across the board in weekend listening, including the Tweet Chart (up 48% year on year), the Big Saturday (up 31%), Sportsbeat Roundup (up 50%), the Sunday Grill (up 53%) and More Music Sunday (up 57%).
The listenership figures cover the period from April 2018 until March 2019. Beat launched a new sound and revised lineup on January 21st and Beat's C.E.O./Programme Director Gabrielle Cummins says these ratings suggest the new sound is already connecting with people. She also paid tribute to the team on the flagship station show Beat Breakfast “Niall and Vinny have been hosting Beat Breakfast for well over a decade and have been joined by Trish for the last 9 nine years. Together all three of them have such great chemistry so that, combined with hard work & focus on what their audience wants in the morning, is a winning formula”.
“Factual & quality content delivered immediately are just two of many reasons why radio continues to dominate the audio landscape in Ireland.” That’s the message from Gabrielle Cummins, who along with being CEO of Beat is also Chairperson of the “Choose Radio” Group. The latest JNLR listenership figures released today show that Irish radio stations consistently deliver audiences of millions to advertisers and brands. Radio continues to be the audio medium of choice for people in Ireland with a massive 85.5% share of the audio market in Ireland. This compares with 8.1% own music, 4.9% Spotify and 1.6% Podcast.
“Today’s JNLR results don’t lie: they highlight a powerful story about the resilience of radio in Ireland. On Radio, you are always front and centre, grabbing the full attention of the audience. Radio stations don’t hide your important message on the bottom of a web page or leave it to fight for attention amid a sea of other competing messages. We can ensure that your ad will be delivered directly to the ears of 3.1 million people daily. Radio is an active medium with a unique ability to stir emotions, create reactions and ultimately build demand. In a competitive market, that fact is a key selling point which differentiates radio from every other advertising medium” added Gabrielle..
With a sample size of more than 16,000 people, the JNLR is the most robust research conducted in Ireland. Earlier this week, JNLR published details of a pilot study which it conducted recently. The study confirmed that ‘Day-After Aided Recall’ remains the best methodology measure of Irish radio listening habits and the results cannot be disputed. The latest JNLR figures released today confirm the popularity of radio in Ireland with 82% of the population tuning in every day. This translates into weekday figures of 3.1 million listeners.
JNLR May 2019 - the facts
1. 82% of people in Ireland listened to the radio yesterday.
2. On average, they spend more than 4 hours with radio every day.
3. When it comes to any audio listening in Ireland, live radio rules with 85.5%. This compares to 8.1% of owned music, 1.6% to podcasts and 4.9% to Spotify.
4. Radio also dominates when compared with other media –51% of all adults in Ireland used Social Media yesterday and just 75% read a national newspaper last week.
5. 377,000 people in Ireland listened to radio via a radio station App and 102,000 listened via the Irish Radioplayer in the last seven days.
6. Irish radio’s strong on-air performance is complemented across its digital platforms with over 10.6 million social connections.
SOURCE: JNLR/IPSOS/MRBI 2019-1
