RTE Radio 1 gained an extra 13,000 listeners after Ryan Tubridy's departure from the station, according to the latest Joint National Listenership Research.
The broadcaster was sacked from RTE after the fallout from the RTE payments scandal earlier this summer.
Bosses had to scramble to fill his daily morning slot, which saw Oliver Callan, Brendan Courtney and Maura Derrane share the rota for the last few months.
The show was even rebranded to the Nine O’Clock Show.
And while a permanent host has not yet been announced, the latest JNLR has revealed that an extra 13,000 listeners tuned into the morning show since Tubridy’s departure.
A total of 347,000 tune in daily.
Kevin Bakhurst, RTÉ Director-General, admitted that “it has been an “extraordinarily challenging period for RTE”.
He said: “Without a doubt this has been an extraordinarily challenging period for RTÉ. It is with gratitude then that I thank the listeners to RTÉ’s radio services for sticking with RTÉ, and with pleasure welcome the 16,000 additional listeners to Radio 1, the 49,000 additional listeners to 2fm, and the 7,000 additional listeners to RTÉ lyric fm (YoY).
“RTÉ staff and our presenters have delivered a diverse range of content that is clearly connecting with more and more people. As we prepare to set a new strategic direction for RTÉ, the latest listenership figures are an endorsement of the enduring popularity and value of public service media, direct from the audiences we serve.”
The JNLRS also revealed Morning Ireland gained an extra 23,000 listeners, bringing their total listeners to 463,000 daily.
Claire Byrne has 8,000 more listeners to her now 331,000 strong show, while Louise Duffy gained 1,000 new listeners. Louise now has 213,000 daily listeners.
Joe Duffy’s Liveline saw 3,000 listeners tune out, leaving the broadcaster with 302,000 listeners, while Ray D’Arcy got an extra 4,000 new fans. He now has 187,000 tuning into his 3ppm show.
And Drivetime lost 1,000 listeners, leaving them with 219,000 people tuning in.
Peter Woods, Head of RTÉ Radio 1 said: "This is a good book for Radio 1. It's an endorsement from our audience and a recognition of the unity of purpose of our station across news and current affairs, sport, our music and wider cultural output - which is unmatched; international recognition for Blackrock Boys, the current Beckett drama season, the Folk Awards.
“All of this is driven by our presenters and most of all by our production teams. Everything here goes back to those production teams and their commitment to public service broadcasting. We’re grateful for the trust of our listeners."
Over at 2FM, Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha and Carl celebrated 11,000 extra listeners. They now have 149,000 people tuning in.
Jennifer Zamparelli attracted 3,000 more listeners to her mid-morning show. She now has 136,000 listeners daily, while Tracy Clifford gained 6,000 people, leaving her with 113,000.
And the 2 Johnnies have 151,000 listeners, getting an extra 11,000 new listeners in this quarter.
Dan Healy, Head of RTÉ Radio Strategy and RTÉ 2FM said: "2FM continues to grow audiences right across the seven days of our schedule. We have seen our share of 15 to 34 olds increase to 12.4% for this period off the back of excellent performances during the weekday for Doireann, Donncha, and Carl, Jennifer Zamparelli, Tracy Clifford and The 2 Johnnies.
“In every radio market morning radio is the vital battle ground for radio stations, and I am thrilled for the entire Breakfast team for their continuous success with the show, which is up 11,000 listeners from the last survey. The 2 Johnnies are also up 11,000 listeners and have become a real appointment to listen, delivering a strong back end of the day for 2FM."
New presenters Laura Fox, Roz Purcell and Emma Power were also celebrating their figures.
Ireland’s Fittest Family host Laura got an extra 7,000 listeners to her weekend radio show. She now has 118,000 listeners every Saturday.
Former Miss Universe Roz and Emma gained a massive 20,000 listeners. They now have 123,000 tuning into their Saturday show.
But Miriam O’Callaghan lost 15,000 listeners, however the Prime Time host was off air for six weeks. She now has 272,000 listeners.
There was no change to Brendan O’Connor’s radio figures for his Sunday show, which has 323,000 tuning in.
But he lost 3,000 listeners to his Saturday show, leaving him with 335,000 tuning in.
Over at Newstalk, Pat Kenny made big gains this quarter with an extra 21,000 listeners. He now has 200,000 tuning in.
Over at Today FM, The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show grows in popularity and appeal once again with the breakfast icon adding a further 4,000 listeners bringing his audience to an impressive 225,000.
Meanwhile, Today FM’s Dave Moore sees his show reach an all-time high for this daypart with 227,000 listeners, an increase of 11,000 since the last report.
Dave said: “I’m just so grateful that so many people tuned into my new show, I’m absolutely loving it and the listeners are such a huge part of it all. We’re only getting started.”
Pamela Joyce lost 3,000 listeners. She now has 142,000 tuning in, while Ray Foley now has an audience of 164,000, after losing 9,000 listeners.
The Last Word with Matt Cooper increased by 7,000 listeners to 182,000.
He said: “With so much happening in the world right now, it’s our job to bring as much of this as we can to our listeners, every day. Thankfully more and more people seem to like the way we do it.”
Fyona Smith, Managing Editor Today FM said: “Today FM’s latest ratings are a clear indication of our team’s ability to entertain and connect with our audience nationally. It’s wonderful to see their efforts recognised. Thank you to everyone who listens, you are the real number 1’s here! These exceptional results, reinforce our commitment to continuing to reach new heights, together”.
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