Finding a radio station which openly admits to being even mildly disappointed with the latest JNLR figures is impossible.
Searching through the avalanche of press releases and bombastic statements for even a hint of self-doubt is futile. As one expects from an industry which prizes showmanship and exuberance, the message must be upbeat.
Yesterday was no exception with every station claiming things were just . . . fine really. But the market is very crowded and in time somebody is going to go out of business. Dublin is probably the most intense example of this, but in Cork competition is fierce too. Mr Adrian Moynes, director of RTÉ radio, agreed yesterday that competition was leaving everyone exhausted. "It is certainly a question worth asking, how much more can the market grow," he said. While RTÉ would appear to be suffering from the onslaught of its commercial rivals, Mr Moynes took comfort from still remaining number one.
"We are still the leaders in Dublin and nationally and let's not lose sight of that. Reacting to falling figures for flagship shows like Morning Ireland and the Marian Finucane Show he said: "Well the last set of figures were really a high water mark and we realised that at the time. So keeping those numbers was always going to be difficult." Over at 98 FM, chief executive Mr Dan Healy was delighted with his station's performance. "We have worked hard over the last year to produce these figures. We knew it was going to be a difficult year with so many stations on the dial, but we have managed to grow again and we hope this is not the end of it yet," he said.
Mr Willie O'Reilly, managing director of Today FM, was also satisfied with the results for his station. "This is a good performance in a difficult market. Like every other radio station we have work to do. We have a young, enthusiastic team who are all up for the challenge." While listenership figures for Dublin's Lite FM dropped 2 per cent, the managing director, Mr Marin Block, was still relatively satisfied. "Given the amount of competition in the Dublin marketplace at the moment, our 10 per cent 'listened yesterday' figure is a very respectable figure for any radio station. We do realise, however, that work must be done if we want to encourage even more listeners to tune to Lite FM in the future."
North West Radio, which is due to lose its licence, also expressed satisfaction.
"The latest listenership figures from the JNLR shows clearly that the decision by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland to withdraw our licence next year is fundamentally flawed, said the station's administrator Ms Mary Daly.