RTÉ 2FM

RTÉ 2FM is owned and operated by RTÉ the Irish Public Service Broadcaster which is ultimately controlled by the RTÉ Board, chaired by Siún Ní Raghallaigh. Day to day operations and management of RTÉ is the responsibility of the RTÉ Executive Board, which reports to the RTÉ Board. The RTÉ Executive is a committee of senior management in RTÉ led by the Director General, and includes Directors of television, radio, news and current affairs, Heads of channels and content as well as heads of corporate divisions such as marketing, finance, legal and strategy. Following the RTÉ payments controversy, which emerged in summer 2023, new Director General Kevin Bakhurst disbanded the RTÉ Executive and replaced it with an Interim Leadership Team.

RTÉ has a combined Radio listenership share of 17.8%. 2FM has an 8.4% share of the weekday radio listeners and is the 4th most listened to radio station in Ireland, it has the second highest radio reach amongst the younger demographic of 15-34 year olds - Bauer’s Today FM has the highest reach in this age group.

2FM broadcasts music and entertainment programming aimed at a younger audience, their key targets are in the 15 to 34 age range. In recent years there has been an increase in the focus on the proportion of Irish music on 2FM playlists. This is in contrast to the flagship Radio One which is aimed at an older demographic and includes more news, current affairs and factual programming.

2FM started broadcasting in 1979 it was the second station launched by RTÉ to attract a younger audience for the public service broadcaster. The rise in the number of pirate radio stations, particularly in the Dublin area, compelled the national broadcaster to launch a more youth focussed station to capture the younger market. Original DJs on the station moved from RTÉ’s Radio One and were also recruited from local radio and the pirate stations.

Originally called RTÉ Radio 2 the name was changed in 1988 when music became the focus of the station and many talk radio programmes were dropped from the schedule or scaled back. The station included household names like Larry Gogan, Gerry Ryan, Dave Fanning and Ian Dempsey, who would all stay with the national broadcaster for the majority of their careers, Dempsey left to rival Today FM in 1998 after 18 years with RTÉ.

In 2011 RTÉ launched the RTÉ Radio Player, offering listeners an app to listen to live RTÉ radio online and on demand programming via a digital app for radio programming.

In 2022 Dan Healy introduced major changes to the 2FM schedule and presenter line up which received negative coverage in the press, with changes to primetime slots like the Breakfast Show, 9am - 11am and drivetime. However some of the changes made have led to increases in listenership for 2FM. More recently 2FM has been subject to scrutiny as part of the payments controversy that was uncovered in summer 2023 when questions were raised about the paid partnerships and product promotions that radio presenters have signed up for outside their RTÉ contracts, as part of the review process into business operations at RTÉ partnerships are expected to be reassessed.