Just when things were starting to look settled at RTÉ Radio, the calls for change are likely to start once again.
RTÉ is once again providing 18 of the top 20 programmes on Irish radio. This is a more than credible performance. But over at 2FM, there is a sense of drift. The station itself is losing listeners and its most recognisable broadcaster, Gerry Ryan, is under growing pressure.
Over the last few years, Ryan's audience has come under competitive threat, with Today FM's Ray D'Arcy competing directly opposite him. While Ryan remains well ahead, young pretender D'Arcy is catching up fast with 225,000 listeners.
As the clear leader across the radio spectrum, it would be easy for RTÉ Radio to dismiss such threats - but that would be a mistake. Within a few months, NewsTalk 106 looks set to become a quasi-national service reaching over 80 per cent of the country. That means RTÉ Radio 1, 2FM, Today FM and NewsTalk 106 will all be competing for a broadbased national audience, particularly in the key morning period.
Advertisers are not sure how it will work out. Clearly RTÉ's biggest guns, like Morning Ireland, are not very nervous - the show still has a staggering audience of 463,000 listeners. But around the fringes, things could be more interesting.
The evening period is also very fluid. The host of RTÉ's Five Seven Live, Rachel English, recently announced her decision to leave the evening slot and her replacement is likely to be Philip Boucher Hayes. "Drive time" radio, as the industry likes to call it, is becoming ultra-competitive. Matt Cooper and George Hook are becoming energetic sparring partners and RTÉ may lose out. What puzzles a lot of observers is why RTÉ does not dominate the evening as much as it does the morning.
Last night, the initial reaction from advertisers to 2FM's slide was very negative. "2FM lost 28,000 listeners, 27,000 of whom are from their core target market of 15 to 34-year-olds. Clearly their strategy of using older DJs to attract younger listeners is not working," said the Initiative agency. The agency also noted growth for Matt Cooper (who recently extended his show by one half-hour), Hook and D'Arcy.
As for the sector itself, there was an encouraging message yesterday. While younger listeners appear to be tuned into their iPods like never before, the overall rate of radio listenership stayed steady at 85 per cent.