The latest survey on radio listenership trends suggests older broadcasters have not managed to halt the decline at RTÉ and in particular at 2FM,writes Emmet Oliver.
During the period under review Marty Whelan was brought in to present 2FM's main breakfast show. The station also depends heavily on Gerry Ryan and Larry Gogan. The presence of these established names does not appear to have halted the slide in listenership for 2FM generally.
Based on 2005 versus 2004 calendar years the station lost 84,000 adult listeners and its performance among 15 to 34-year-olds was almost as bad. It is possible the station is growing old with its audience, but advertisers will want to see the station recruiting and developing some younger talent in the years ahead.
Over at RTÉ One the situation is slightly different. The station still retains the most listened to radio programme in the Republic - Morning Ireland with a staggering 476,000 listeners. In a fragmenting media landscape the enduring popularity of this programme is remarkable.
RTÉ One currently has a blend of broadcasters, with Ryan Tubridy, a relative newcomer, sharing space with more established figures like Seán O'Rourke at lunchtime and Joe Duffy in the afternoon with Liveline.
Because RTÉ has been dominant for so long, many critics argue that its ratings can only go in one direction. There is much truth in this, but eventually the head of RTÉ Radio Adrian Moynes will be hoping the decline comes to a halt.
Still RTÉ executives are not going to be losing too much sleep over the next few months when you consider that nine of the top 10 radio programmes in the Republic are RTÉ productions. In that context the performance of Today FM's Ray D'Arcy, who ironically first found widespread fame with RTÉ, is notable. The Ray D'Arcy show is the only non-RTÉ programme in the top 10 with 223,000 mainly young listeners.
Elsewhere in the commercial sector things are going to get even more competitive with Dublin's NewsTalk 106 now in the driving seat to pick up a national licence. At present the station's main asset would appear to be George Hook who has 35,000 listeners, an all time record for the station.
The next most listened to show is Eamon Dunphy's programme with 25,000 listeners. What will be interesting in the long term is whether these two presenters can replicate these Dublin only audiences in a national context.
Another trend evident in the figures is the growing popularity of weekend shows. For example Marian Finucane, who no longer broadcasts during the week, has managed to reach an audience of 238,000 on Saturdays between 11.00am and 1pm. Also making strong gains is Derek Mooney with his Mooney Goes Wild on One show.
The conventional wisdom in the radio business over many years was that weekend radio was downtime, mainly to be filled with just sports reports and repeats from during the week. But the latest figures suggest stations are realising the increasing importance of Saturday and Sunday.
While most of the media attention tends to focus on big national personalities, local stations continue to provide vibrant schedules that command the loyalty of listeners.
Based on a national picture local stations have an sizeable lead over all RTÉ stations put together.