The latest JNLR/Ipsos survey highlights the powerful connection between radio and the Irish public, with millions tuning in each day to a medium that plays a central role in Irish life, delivering strong audiences and deep daily engagement across the country.
Almost 3.5 million adults tune into radio each weekday, underlining radio’s continued strength and relevance in a changing media landscape. 78% of adults listen to radio each week day, while 90% of adults listen every week.
Radio continues to perform strongly across younger audiences despite growing media choice. 66% of15–34-year-olds listen each weekday, while daily listening among 15–24s remains very strong at 61%, representing 421,000 young listeners tuning in each weekday.
Listening to local and regional radio remains a cornerstone of Irish media, with 2.3 million adults tuning into their local or regional station every weekday. Radio also continues to dominate the wider audio landscape, accounting for 74% of total audio listening time, far ahead of streaming and podcasts.
Beyond reach, radio’s emotional connection with audiences remains a defining strength. Listeners turn to radio not just for information but for companionship, entertainment and reassurance — a role that has become even more important in a complex media environment.
This emotional bond also strengthens advertising effectiveness, helping brands build meaningful and lasting relationships with audiences. Recent research by Lumen Research and dentsu for Radiocentre Ireland shows Irish radio outperforms global norms by35% on attention and memorability, demonstrating its strong ability to deliver high attention at a low cost — making radio a true “attention bargain” for advertisers.
Ciarán Cunningham, CEO of Radiocentre Ireland, said:
“Radio continues to play a vital role in Irish society, reaching millions of people every day and remaining a trusted and valued part of people’s lives. As we approach World Radio Day, these incredibly strong results highlight the unique power of radio to connect communities, create emotional engagement and deliver real impact for audiences and advertisers alike.”
Other key results from the latest JNLR/Ipsos survey include:
• 90% of all adults and 84% of 15–34-year-olds listen to radio every week.
• 66% of 15–34-year-olds listen each weekday, while daily listening among the hard-to-reach 15–24-year-old cohort remains strong at 61%.
• 77% of ABC1 adults listen to radio each weekday, while the figure for the main shopper is 80%.
• Listening to local and regional radio remains very strong, with 2.3 million adults tuning into their local or regional station every weekday.
• 96% of adults listen to audio every week. Live radio accounts for 74% of total audio time, followed by music streaming (13.5%), YouTube Music (6%), and podcasts (3.5%).
• 12% of all radio listening is via connected devices — 8% through a smart speaker and 3% via a mobile device. Among 15–34s, 17% of listening is via connected devices with 9% of all listening through smart speaker and 7% through mobile.
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