IT IS the imminent arrival of Radio Ireland that has generated such interest in the latest radio listenership figures, as well as the fact that RTE revamped its schedules in preparation for the new national station.
Radio Ireland will appear in the next figures. In the meantime, radio stations are looking to see if their performance is likely to be good enough to withstand the new competition when it goes on air on St Patrick's Day.
The news was not very good for RTE. While the new schedule was only in place for the last quarter of the period being measured, 1996, comparisons showed no change at all for those slots most affected and where RTE would have hoped to see some improvement, however small.
RTE looked to housewives for salvation and an increase from 37 per cent to 39 per cent, but as this is an annual figure there is no way of knowing if either Pat Kenny or Gay Byrne are attracting them.
Local radio sources are claiming that there are now 15 stations ahead of Pat Kenny in their own franchise areas and 16 ahead of Gay Byrne.
The Joint National Listenership Research, undertaken by MRBI, shows that almost nine out of 10 people listen to radio each weekday. The numbers drop over the weekend.
Radio 1 has a 33 per cent share, 2FM, 21 per cent, and the local radio sector has a market share of 46 per cent.
The country's top performer is Highland Radio in Donegal, with a market share of 79 per cent. Other stations that showed a jump in market share were WLR in Waterford, up eight points to 57 per cent, and Mid West Radio, up four points to 61 per cent.
In Cork, Cork 96 FM increased its share by one point to 49 per cent, compared to RTE Radio 1 at 27 per cent, 2FM at 18 per cent, and RTE Radio Cork at five per cent.
Meanwhile, another Irish radio station, Atlantic 252, has maintained its position as the UK's largest commercial radio station. Atlantic 252 broadcasts to Britain on long wave from Trim, Co Meath. It has a frequency issued by the Irish Department of Communications and is owned by the Luxembourg media company, CLT and RTE.