Beat retains audience size in latest JNLR report - Kilkenny Live

Youth-focused regional radio station Beat 102-103 has retained its record-breaking daily audience size on the back of a positive day for Irish radio.

In May of this year, it was revealed that 101,000 people tune into Beat every day – the first time in the station’s 20-year history that daily listenership exceeded the 100,000 mark. Beat has now succeeded in solidifying that number by retaining its daily audience size across the second quarter of 2023.

Beat’s strong audience data is indicative of Irish radio’s resilience amid an ever-changing media landscape. Radio enjoys huge listenership with 91% of Irish adults and 87% of 15–34-year-olds listening to radio every week.  

Across Irish radio, there has been a steady increase of listening through smart devices with an increase of 7.6% of all listening through a smart speaker and 9% through a mobile device for the younger 15 to 34 age group. This positive trend towards increased smart speaker listening is reflected on Beat’s own streaming channels, Beat 102-103 and Noughty Beats. 

The ability to access content easily and the quality and popularity of Irish radio is shown by this JNLR release reporting that the average adult is listening to radio content for over 4.1 hours each day. Beat#s performance is reflective of this change in Irish radio. Between 2021 and 2021, the total time spent listening to Beat on smart speakers increased by 16%, while average listening time grew by almost 20 minutes.

Ciaran Cunningham, CEO of Radiocentre, Ireland said: “I am delighted to see that radio again has seen further growth in audience with a further 65,000 listeners each week. It is a testament to the hard work and investment from radio stations up and down the country creating brilliant content that over 3.3 million adults are listening to radio every single weekday, a record high in daily audience levels in recent years."