79% of Irish People Tune into Live Radio Every day Compared to 25% Who Stream Music

79% of Irish people tune into live radio every day compared to 25% who stream music and 5% who listen to podcasts daily, according to a new JNLR ‘Radio and the Irish Audio Market’ report.

The JNLR’s ‘Radio and the Irish Audio Market” report, compiled by Ipsos/MRBI shows radio is in a healthy position in 2021 with 3,171,000 listeners tuning in on a daily basis.

Despite the proliferation of media content, platforms and devices, the research shows that Irish radio has maintained its significant impact on Irish audiences over the years – listeners tune in to radio for a total of 13.1 million hours daily – on average each listener is listening for 4 hours and 16 minutes each weekday and for more than three hours among the 15-24-year-old audience.

Radio Still Popular in Ireland

Irish listeners love live radio with 92% saying they listen weekly, far exceeding the weekly audience figures for on-demand online audio (53%). This on-demand online figure includes podcasting – 17% say they listen to podcasts each week increasing to 30% among the younger 15-24-year-old group.

The figures also indicate that rather than supplanting live radio, over time music streaming services are replacing our personal music archives such as downloads, CD’s or vinyl. Weekly listenership to these archives is down from 38% in 2018 to 22% in 2021 while the proportion listening to streaming music services, such as Spotify, has risen by a similar level, from 22% to 37% over the same period.

At home is by far the most popular place to listen to audio content, with 75% of Adults 15+ listening in this location daily. 34% of people listen in the car every day, while 9% listen in a work or school/college environment and 8% while out walking/running or cycling. In terms of devices used, to listen to audio, 72% use a radio or music player on a typical day.

Widespread ownership of smartphones, now at 86% amongst the Irish public, facilitates access to audio anytime and anywhere, while ownership of voice-activated technology devices such as Alexa or Google Home has almost trebled since 2018, growing from 11% to 30%. Ownership of these voice-activated devices is significantly higher among younger age groups (48% among 15–24-year-olds.)

Other key statistics from the report:

92% listen to live radio on a weekly basis.https://www.youtube.com/

36% of people listen to music weekly via YouTube

Live radio has an estimated share of 78.8% of time spent listening to all audio on a daily basis and 53.2% share among 15-24-year-olds.

Among this younger 15-24-year-old audience, music streaming (Spotify, Apple Music etc..) has a time spent share of 25.2% and YouTube music has 14.2% share

The next detailed JNLR listenership report will be published at the beginning of December 2021.

Scott Williams, Chair of the JNLR Committee, said:

“Irish people love radio, as the JNLR data consistently shows. 92% of Irish adults listen to radio each week. Access to audio has never been easier with growing consumption on digital devices. The Irish audio market is dynamic and sophisticated and Irish radio remains the most significant audio provider in the country notwithstanding the rise in popularity of streaming and podcasting.”

The JNLR Committee members are:

Scott Williams, Wireless (Chairman)
Barry Dooley, AAI
Andrew Robinson, BAI
Helen O’Rourke, IAPI
Katie Boylan, IRS+
Gavin Deans, Media Central
Diarmuid O Leary, Red FM
Gareth Ivory, RTE
Dan Healy, RTE
Chris Doyle, Bauer Media
Brian McCarthy, Urban Media

Prepared by Suzanna Hayek