Cool FM retains position as Northern Ireland’s No 1 radio station
Last updated 27th Oct 2023
Cool FM has topped the official radio listening ratings – for the third quarter running!
New figures from RAJAR (the radio industry’s audience measurement mechanism) show the station is consistently outperforming all competitors including BBC Radio Ulster, which held the No 1 position for decades.
Cool FM now reaches 527,000 weekly listeners, a rise of 93,000 from the same period last year.
In addition, some of Cool FM’s most popular shows have extra reason to celebrate.
These include the Breakfast Show fronted by Pete, Paulo and Rebecca.
This is now Northern Ireland’s biggest radio show - with 311,000 weekly listeners.
No other show in the country can claim to have more people tuning in every week.
Meanwhile, the ‘Cool Saturday Show’ fronted by Stuart Robinson, Deputy Dave and Kat is enjoyed by 123,000 people every Saturday morning making it the biggest weekend radio show in the country.
Commenting on Cool FM’s newly established market position, David Tighe, Managing Director, Bauer Media Audio NI said:
“It is incredible to think that nearly 34 years since its launch and against the backdrop of all the new competition in the digital era, Cool FM is now delivering some of the best figures in its history - with over half a million people tuning in and listening for a record 4.5 million hours each week. A lot has changed in our part of the world over those years and as a business we are always looking to the future.
“It is thanks to our early adaption of digital technology that has allowed Cool FM to flourish in a modern audio landscape - Cool FM is the most listened to radio station in Northern Ireland on DAB radio and mobile apps but it’s the explosion of smart speakers in recent years that had the biggest impact. Just in the past year, 33% more people in NI are choosing smart speakers as a way to listen to live radio, so just as audio consumers are changing their habits, we are adapting too.
"I’d like to take the opportunity to thank listeners and advertisers for their continued support over the years, we never take it for granted. We always listen to you and you continue to listen to us, it’s a great arrangement!”
Overall, Bauer Media Audio NI stations (Downtown Radio, Cool FM, Downtown Country and newest addition Greatest Hits Radio NI) have attained a new reach for the company - delivering 809,000 weekly listeners and 8.1million hours.
Individually, Downtown Radio has 288,000 weekly listeners and is the home of NI’s Number 2 commercial radio breakfast show with Gary and Glenn while sister station Downtown Country delivers a further 91,000 weekly listeners.
Greatest Hits Radio NI has 106,000 weekly listeners.
This means that along with Downtown Country Bauer Media Audio NI now has the top two digital-only stations in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, the bigger picture for radio listening across Northern Ireland is also rosy with local stations in particular continuing to perform well - a record 93% of people here say they tune into live radio every week, an increase of 5% over the year demonstrating just how healthy, robust and dominant radio remains within the audio landscape.
Steven Johnston, Managing Director of the Belfast-based Adhaus Media, said the latest figures were great news for Northern Ireland as a whole.
“It’s great for us – It’s great for our clients,” he said. “I have never seen radio (listening) so high in all my 21 years in the industry,”
He added: “It just seems to go from strength to strength. That’s commercial radio as a whole but the strong figures every quarter from Bauer Media NI is exceptional.”