The latest radio ratings were released in the UK and Ireland last week. While stations crow over who is No.1 we’re concerned with a basic, yet essential question; how is radio as a platform performing?

In Ireland, the news is not good, with overall listening taking another dive. Currently the Average Weekday Yesterday Listenership figure is at 84%. About ten years ago that was up at 89%. It’s clear the trend is showing less and less Irish people are listening to radio.

The opposite is true in the UK where radio listening is increasing. Radio there now reaches 91% of the population.

The key difference between the two markets is that UK listeners have a lot more choice. In Ireland, when you’re done listening to your favourite station, there is precious little else to tune to. In the UK, flip over to DAB, and there is a wealth of extra stations. So instead of turning off, UK listeners tend to listen to something else, hence the increase in overall listening.

The current RAJAR release shows the DAB platform, and the stations on it, are doing well. Of all radio listening in the UK 28.2% is now done on digital radio and DAB exclusive stations continue to increase audience. The most successful this time around is Absolute 80’s which broke the million listeners a week barrier.

In Ireland, outside of the main metro areas, listeners have an effective choice of just six stations. This is not good for listeners, it’s not good for radio and it’s not good for business.

So the choice for Irish broadcasting is to keep the status quo and wonder in twenty years why our businesses are failing or, at the very least, start learning about DAB and how it can be used to grow the business and provide for our futures.

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