Classic rock station widens its offering

NOSTALGIC FOR jingly-jangly 1990s Britpop but would rather switch off the radio than have 1970s soft rock inflicted on you? Classic rock station Radio Nova (100FM) is to launch 12 niche digital channels via its app and website in a bid to capture the ears of listeners who know what kind of guitar music they like (and don’t like).

The planned suite of channels, which are set to go live by the end of the month, will consist of programmed tracks from genres that don’t usually get much airplay, such as heavy metal, according to Radio Nova chief executive Kevin Branigan.

But the guitar-led output at Radio Nova itself shouldn’t be seen as “niche”, Branigan says – indeed, it wouldn’t be outside Ireland.

“If you look at all of the big cities from America to Australia, even in the UK, there are rock stations that are huge radio stations, and in many of those markets there might be three or four rock stations, and the leading rock station fights with the hot hits stations for the number one and two positions in the market,” he says. “It’s just in Ireland that rock was considered a niche.”

A lack of pirate-pressure meant it was one of the last genres to receive a Dublin licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Even the indie kids at Phantom got in first.

Nova launched two years ago – “an awful time to start a business, let alone start a radio station”, according to Branigan.

Music radio is now crackling like old vinyl under the strain of proliferating listening options, both digital and traditional. In the Dublin market, where there are 14 stations competing for advertising, “saturated” is the word frequently used.

“We would be keen to say that this is correct, but we would add that we believe the market is saturated only for certain kinds of radio stations. So for the likes of 2FM and 98FM and FM104 and Spin, which are all very similar, it’s saturated. But rock is a huge market gap,” says Branigan.

Nova has held steady with its weekday presenter line-up of Pat Courtenay, Greg Gaughran, Marty Miller and Dee Woods: “In radio, you’ve got to be consistent.”

Although the station is “really aiming at the over-30s”, it does attract younger listeners. “People who are 20 like the Rolling Stones and they like David Bowie – it’s quite chic to like it. And people who are in their 40s and 50s like the Killers and they like Coldplay and they like the Kings of Leon, so it’s one of the few radio formats that brings everyone in.”

The station expects to break even “in the next two to three months, which is ahead of target”.

It’s also ahead of its targets on employees (45, compared with an original projection of 33) and listeners, which reached 140,000 people in July, exceeding its two-year target by 20,000. Some 130,000 people have downloaded the Radio Nova app to date, with some of them doing so from beyond the Dublin area covered by its broadcast licence.

But there is still work to be done. After its “seriously addictive” summer outdoor advertising campaign, Nova will continue to spend on marketing in the months ahead as it seeks to boost awareness of the station among Dublin-dwellers from its current level of 30 per cent.

“We’ve spent about €800,000 on promoting our brand,” says Branigan. “We’ve spent an absolute fortune on marketing ourselves, and we’re going to keep on doing that.”

Its sales team has to “work hard for every single cent” in an aggressive advertising market, he adds. “It’s different than five or 10 years ago. I remember when I was working at FM104 years ago, the money was nearly falling in the windows.”