The latest round of radio listenership figures for Ireland have been released, with positive news for KCLR, the local radio station for Kilkenny and Carlow.
Today’s JNLR/Ipsos survey results (published Thursday, 13 August) show that radio remains one of Ireland’s biggest daily habits, with 3.5 million adults tuning to radio on an average weekday.
That’s 78% of the entire adult population in Ireland tuning into a radio station every weekday, with 89% tuning in over the course of a week.
Local and regional radio is a very important part of this daily habit, with almost 2.3 million adults listening to a local or regional station every weekday.
Closer to home, KCLR’s weekly reach sees almost half the adult population across Kilkenny and Carlow (46%) turn to their local station for the latest news, live sport, music and information, with the station’s programming reaching 66,000 adults every week, an increase of 6,000 over the past 12 months.
Increase in market share
KCLR’s share of the market (factoring in listenership to all radio stations) now stands at 31%, up from 24.7% compared to the same time last year. The figures also show that half (51%) of those listening to KCLR listen only to KCLR, underscoring a strong sense of loyalty and trust in the station to cater for the needs of people in Kilkenny and Carlow.
Weekday listenership has received a particular boost in the latest survey with KCLR Breakfast, The KCLR Daily, The Afternoon Show and The Home Run all increasing their audience numbers by between 20% and 35% compared to the first three months of this year, figures closely mirrored in year-on-year growth.
The new-look Weekend Breakfast offering (Saturday, 7-10am) continues to increase its audience listenership after a period of change, while The Lake Country (Sunday, 8-11am) has shown a 22% increase in listenership over the past 12 months.
The figures demonstrate the scale of radio’s role in Irish life at a time when people have more media and entertainment choices than ever before. From the morning routine and the commute to the working day and the journey home, radio continues to provide a shared soundtrack to the day for millions of people.
A strong performance
Speaking on the results, which cover the period of July 2025 to June 2026, KCLR CEO John Purcell says it’s a really strong performance.
“There’s no point in disguising it. We’re in a very choppy market, both in radio and television, conventional media and so on. There’s been a lot of change; we did a lot of stuff here in KCLR, and there are changes across the airwaves everywhere. We got the figures yesterday; they’re well worth talking about. It’s really strong.”
“It’s a huge team effort, and everybody plays a part. It’s across KCLR, it’s across every radio station in the country and we’re providing a really important service.”
“But what we’ve got, which is above all, is trust and the relationship with our audience and the connection with the local audiences and local organisations. And as long as that remains strong, there will always be a place for a media organisation like KCLR. So it’s very exciting.”
Constantly developing
With regard to the station’s schedule, there’s constant development happening, as programme and operations manager Ken McGuire outlined.
“There’s always work going on behind the scenes, reviewing our output, adapting to the needs of listeners in Kilkenny and Carlow, whether that’s our music selection week to week, special interest programming, or in expanding our digital offerings as listener habits continue to change and evolve.”
“Already this year we’ve added new shows around education and the arts with a real focus on what’s happening locally; our Between Towns & Villages series is going on the road every month taking issues usually reserved for daytime discussion into the night; our music offering is constantly under review and we’re just about to kick off Irish Music Month next week, and on the podcast and social front we’re seeing record numbers of downloads and views for our sports analysis and programming there.”
“So on air, and online, we’re heading in the right direction, and we’re not done yet with lots happening between now and Christmas. The results today are a credit to all of those on air and behind the scenes.”
The heart of the story
One of the vital ingredients for a local radio station is its news and current affairs output, as KCLR’s head of news Edwina Grace explained.
“News doesn’t have to be the Donald Trumps, the NATO agreements; news is whatever is relevant to people, for themselves and the areas around them.”
“Our job is not only to bring accurate information to air and online, but it’s to reflect what’s going on in Carlow and Kilkenny, be it the bigger stories, the water cooler moments that people are spotting and asking ‘what’s that about’? And it’s to get the answers that our listeners are looking for. We do have access to the decision makers, policy planners, and that’s what we try to do.”
You can listen to the full conversation and reaction around the results below.
Radio in Ireland – did you know?
- On average, listeners tune into almost four hours of live radio every day
- 89% of all adults listen to radio every week.
- 78% of adults listen to radio on an average weekday, representing almost 3.5 million people.
- 65% of 15–34-year-olds listen each weekday, representing almost 900,000 listeners.
- 59% of 15–24-year-olds listen each weekday, representing 417,000 young listeners.
- 80% of main shoppers and 76% of ABC1 adults listen to radio each weekday.
- Approximately 2.3 million adults listen to local or regional radio every weekday.
- 12% of all radio listening is now through a connected device, rising to 18% among 15–34-year-olds.
- 8% of all radio listening is through a smart speaker, rising to 9.5% for adults 15-34.
- 81% of women working full-time listen to radio on an average weekday, representing 771,000 listeners.
- 84% of adults aged 35+ listen each weekday, representing 2.6 million people.
Source: JNLR/Ipsos 2026-2 (July 2025 – June 2026)
