WLR is turning 30 in style this year, as we celebrate yet another great set of listenership figures! As per the latest Ipsos MRBI Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures released on Wednesday 31stJuly, 7 out of 10 adults in Waterford listen to WLR every single week.
While weekdays remain strong, particularly in the evenings, with Ray C and John O’Shea recording strong figures on ‘The Shift’ and ‘The Late Show’, Saturdays have seen significant growth. WLR stalwarts Timmy Ryan and Rick Whelan have seen huge jumps in listenership on Saturday afternoons and WLR’s newest presenter, Clonea Power native, Claire Power has doubled the audience on Saturday nights with her brand new show, ‘Saturday Night Social’.
Damien Tiernan, also new to the WLR line-up has quickly settled in too with ‘Déise Today’ listeners engaging with the show more than ever before, both on-air and online.
This news comes amid a busy summer for WLR, as we also celebrate the launch of the new WLR eGolfs and Cork Airport Broadcaster - a state-of-the-art broadcast truck which will take WLR to the heart of all of the major festivals and events in Waterford.
In general, radio continues to be the audio medium of choice for people in Ireland with a massive 85% share of the audio market in Ireland. This compares with 7.8% of people who choose to listen to their own downloaded music and 5.6% who listen to Spotify. While podcasts are very much the buzz-medium at the moment, they still only account for 1.1% of all audio listened to in Ireland.
With a sample size of more than 16,000 people, the JNLR is the most robust research conducted in Ireland. The latest JNLR figures released on 31st July 2019 confirm the popularity of radio in Ireland with 82% of the population tuning in every day.
Speaking about the increases, WLR Managing Director Des Whelan says, “WLR’s success lies in our strength in delivering up-to-the-minute local news and sport content and great music and entertainment. We have a stellar line up of presenters with great personalities who love Waterford and are passionate about the county.”
Des Whelan also notes that the growth in digital media has provided some exciting opportunities for WLR:
“While people still listen at home and in their cars, the prevalence of smart phones means people can now listen on the WLR App or via the Irish Radio Player App, and Alexa is opening up a whole new world of opportunities for us too.”
On Monday September 9th, WLR will take a trip down memory lane as we celebrate 30 years on air. From 7am through to midnight, many of the station’s most loved presenters, personalities and broadcasters will join us on air to remember the highs and lows of WLR’s incredible story to date.
JNLR July 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%. This compares to 7.8% of owned music, 1.1% to podcasts and 5.6% to Spotify.
4. Radio also dominates when compared with other media –53% of all adults in Ireland used Social Media yesterday and just 29% read a national newspaper last week.
5. 311,000 people in Ireland listened to radio via a radio station App and 58,000 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 10.8 million social connections.
Source: Ipsos MRBI JNLR 2019-2
