Nicky Byrne tipped for Tubs' 2FM morning slot while Tubs and D'Arcy in the running to replace John Murray
Change is afoot in RTE radio following the recent axing of John Murray's late morning show.
Murray (50) had fronted his own show on RTE Radio 1 for five years after he took over the 9-10am slot vacated by Ryan Tubridy as he moved to 2FM in 2010.
And now it looks like Tubs (42) could be returning to his old home as he is being tipped as Murray's possible replacement.
Latest JNLR figures revealed a jump of 12,000 for the Ryan Tubridy Show and it may be hoped Tubs can work similar magic for Radio 1 in the slot which had lost 8,000 listeners at last count for John Murray.
However, speculation is mounting that Ray D'Arcy (50) is also being considered for the prime morning slot given his afternoon show on RTE Radio 1 has failed to make an impact.
D'Arcy took over Derek Mooney's old slot in February and the latest JNLR figures in May reported the slot had lost 10,000 listeners.
However, RTE said it was too early at that point to accurately assess the programme's performance since D'Arcy was not in the role for the full period covered by the JNLRs.
Should Tubs be leaving his 9am slot on 2FM, it looks like golden boy Nicky Byrne (36) could be drafted in to replace him.
The Nicky Byrne Show, co-presented by Jenny Greene, airs weekdays at 11am and latest figures showed a listenership rise of 10,000, bringing the average audience to an impressive 150,000 daily.
Presenter John Murray leaves morning show on RTE Radio 1
Brendan O'Connor, whose successful Saturday Night Show was axed in May, is currently hosting the Brendan O'Connor Show in Murray's slot although he has insisted it is only a temporary arrangement.
"There's been a lot of mixed reporting on this - I'm not replacing John Murray. Nobody can replace John Murray," he said on his first day.
He added that it had been portrayed in some quarters that he had "slipped in to John Murray's still-warm bed" but he said, "I would not do that. I wouldn't take anyone else's gig."
D'Arcy too old to replace Tubridy on the Late Late Show, says Kenny
"I'm here for four weeks and all I'm doing really is keeping the seat warm for whoever the anointed one is, Tubs or whoever, I don't know who it is," he added.
RTE Two's TwoTube host Stephen Byrne is currently filling in for Tubs on 2FM for two weeks.
RTE has yet to announce John Murray's replacement.
Online Editors
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