Younger Audiences Remain Strongly Engaged with 3.5 Million Adults Tuning into Radio every Weekday.

The latest JNLR/Ipsos figures released on Thursday 14th May 2026 confirm the scale and influence of radio in Ireland, with almost 3.5 million adults tuning in every weekday and listening levels among younger audiences remaining particularly robust.

The survey shows that 78% of adults listen to radio each weekday, while weekly reach now stands at 89% of the adult population, reinforcing radio’s position as one of Ireland’s most consistently used media channels.

Radio continues to perform very strongly across younger audiences with 65% of 15–34-year-olds listening each weekday, while 6 out of 10 of under 24 year olds tune in each weekday, representing 416,000 young listeners.

Local and regional radio continues to play a hugely important role in Irish life, attracting 2.3 million adult listeners every weekday and maintaining strong engagement within communities across the country.

In terms of how people listen, 10% of all radio listening is now via connected devices — 6% through a smart speaker and 3% via a mobile device. For the younger 15–34 age group, 17% of all radio listening is now via a connected device, with smart speakers accounting for 9% and mobile devices for 7% of their total radio listening.

Radio also remains the dominant force within the overall audio market. Live radio accounts for 74% of all audio listening time, substantially ahead of music streaming, podcasts and other audio formats.

Alongside its scale, radio continues to offer audiences something increasingly valuable in modern media — trusted companionship, personality and human connection. In an environment often shaped by fragmented and impersonal media experiences, radio creates a sense of shared experience and real-time connection that continues to resonate strongly with listeners throughout the day.

That connection is also reflected in advertising performance. Research conducted by Lumen Research and dentsu for Radiocentre Ireland found that Irish radio delivers attention and memorability levels 35% above global norms, highlighting radio’s ability to generate high levels of audience attention efficiently and cost-effectively for advertisers.

Ciarán Cunningham, CEO of Radiocentre Ireland, said:

“These results show that radio delivers both exceptional scale and deep audience connection, while evolving alongside changing listening habits and technologies. The JNLR/Ipsos survey highlights 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:

•  89% of all adults and 83% of 15–34-year-olds listen to radio every week.
• 65% of 15–34-year-olds listen each weekday, while daily listening among the hard-to-reach 15–24-year-old cohort remains very strong at 60%.
• 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%).
• 10% of all radio listening is via connected devices — 6% 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.

For more information contact:

Ciarán Cunningham, CEO, Radiocentre Ireland on 087 2242359