Radio NOVA is a radio station licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, based in Dublin, Ireland. It was awarded its broadcasting licence by the BAI in September 2008 and launched on 1 September 2010. It is the only Dublin radio station licensed to transmit to the extensive Dublin commuter belt, including Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath. NOVA is available throughout County Louth, in south Armagh, south Down, east Tyrone and north Armagh although in some of these areas reception is patchy. NOVA broadcasts on 100.3 FM from Three Rock Mountain Dublin, 100.5 from Saggart Hill, County Dublin, to serve County Kildare and 95.7 FM from Bray Head in North Wicklow, to cover County Wicklow. The station covers County Meath from its main Dublin transmitter.Radio NOVA 100fm in County Offaly operates to 100.5.
Shareholding
The current parent company of Radio Nova is Choice Broadcasting. Choice Broadcasting shareholders include Kevin Branigan and Mike Ormonde. Choice Broadcasting also owns Classic Hits 94-105FM. Former shareholders included Bay Broadcasting Ltd, Vienna Investments, Des Whelan and Pat McDonagh.
Programming
NOVA broadcasts what it describes as a diet of "guitar-based music". In November 2012, it received a derogation from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to reduce its news content from 20% of total programming to 10%, on account of it being a special interest station. As a result, NOVA continues to broadcast hourly news bulletins between 6 am and 12 midnight, as well as music news segments at various times during the day. Its main newscasters are Tara Ducken and John Harte with cover provided by Elaine Stenson and David Layde.
Ambitions
While NOVA's licence allows it to broadcast to Dublin and surrounding counties, the station has made no secret of its ambitions to broadcast to a wider area. In April 2013 and September 2015, NOVA received temporary licences from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to run a temporary, pilot station called 'The Rock'. The temporary station broadcast to several areas outside NOVA's own transmission area: Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Kilkenny and the North East. The station's Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Branigan, stated that the purpose of the temporary licence was to test the market in these areas for a full-time classic rock radio station. The Rock previously broadcast under a BAI temporary licence in 2007 and 2008 and was the forerunner to NOVA. Several articles appeared in the Irish media in the Sunday Business Post and Sunday Times during 2015 in which Branigan stated he intended to apply to the BAI for approval to extend Radio NOVA to include these extra areas in 2016. If approved, the station would create an additional 10 full-time jobs.
Location
The station is based at Castleforbes House, Castleforbes Road, in the north east of Dublin.
