Tension on airwaves as latest JNLR figures out

If the voices coming out of your wireless this morning sound a little on edge, that’s because it’s a tense Thursday in the Irish radio sector – the latest Joint National Listenership Research figures are out today.

The ratings will reveal how the Newstalk Breakfast show has performed since Norah Casey was installed as the permanent co-host alongside Chris Donoghue in September.

Other trends to look for include whether or not there is a continuation of the pattern of losses from the weekday and Sunday morning schedule on RTÉ Radio 1 – with some gains on weekday afternoons – that emerged in the last book.

The JNLRs are eagerly anticipated by radio presenters, who may be left feeling insecure about their slot in the schedule if they suffer a succession of listener declines. Bad figures are known to prompt something of a blame game, with presenters and producers sometimes pointing the finger at a poor audience inheritance from the show that precedes theirs.

Meanwhile, RTÉ Radio has announced it is dumping Sport at Seven, its 7pm half-hour sports news round-up on Radio 1 and replacing it with an hourly sports magazine show called Game On over on 2fm.

The show, to be presented by Damien O’Meara, will be “pacey, informative, interactive and agenda-setting; underpinned by credibility and expertise”, according to RTÉ.

Game On will go out in the same 7pm-8pm weeknight time slot as Newstalk’s Off the Ball programme, which has won nine PPI radio awards, and is, coincidentally, regarded as pacey, informative, interactive . . .