Tubridy Tonight had regular viewing figures of 450,000, however, the show also regularly fell victim to so-called "Saturday Night Syndrome", with "The Late Late Show", broadcast on Friday nights, frequently featuring supposedly better guests. In 2009 "Tubridy Tonight" came to an end when RTÉ announced that Tubridy would succeed Pat Kenny as host of "The Late Late Show" for the following series, with the presenter describing "Tubridy Tonight" as "quite the odyssey". Upon Gay Byrne's retirement from "The Late Late Show" in 1999, RTÉ announced that Pat Kenny, host of his own Saturday night chat show, would be Byrne's replacement. "Kenny Live"
Ryan Tubridy had lost over 110,000 listeners since the move. After finishing "The Tubridy Show" on 16 July 2010, he began presenting "Tubridy" on RTÉ 2fm on 20 August 2010, surprising listeners by starting the programme three days earlier that what was originally scheduled for 23 August. His first guest on the programme was Bono. His RTÉ Radio 1 slot was filled by John Murray. "Tubridy" became synonymous with declining listenership figures, a 40% collapse of which by 2011 coincided with increased listenership figures for its rival "The Ray D'Arcy Show". In May 2011, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland upheld a complaint