Bay Broadcasting Goes National with Radio Nova, Classic Hits Radio, and Sunshine 106.8

Bay Broadcasting, the second largest radio group in Ireland, has today announced a major expansion with the rollout of its stations Radio Nova, Classic Hits Radio and Sunshine 106.8 on DAB, bringing the three services to an estimated 85% of the population.

Bay claims the move marks a new era of national scale and audience growth for the group and describes the launch of the three radio services on national DAB as the most exciting development for radio choice in over a decade.

The expansion will significantly increase Bay’s reach, bringing Radio Nova and Sunshine 106.8 to an additional 2.5 million people, while Classic Hits Radio will reach a further 1.2 million, bringing important new choice to millions of people and having the potential to challenge Bauer Media’s monopoly on national radio commercial radio in Ireland.

The radio services will broadcast on the Failte DAB Mux2 trial, which will reach most of the country outside the Dublin and is expected to launch in the coming days.

Bay Broadcasting CEO, Kevin Branigan, said, “We’ve long harboured ambitions to expand our radio services around the country and the Failte DAB Mux2 trial gives the opportunity to do that. DAB works hand in hand with FM radio and will provide a seamless transmission network around the country alongside our existing FM. The extension of our services brings our three highly successful services, to a quasi-national audience, increasing diversity and plurality in the radio industry.”

Bay’s stations are already the leading music services within their respective FM franchise areas. In Dublin, Radio Nova and Sunshine 106.8 are the number one and number two music radio stations, with 9.4% and 8.8% respectively. In Galway, Bay-owned Galway Bay FM commands a market share of 29% while Classic Hits Radio is the largest commercial radio services in the country outside the two national stations Today FM and Newstalk, both owed by Bauer Media.

Radio Nova currently broadcasts to Dublin City, County & Commuter Belt (Dublin, Kildare, Meath Wicklow) Sunshine to Dublin City & County and Classic Hits Radio to the multi-city area of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway & Clare. The move will make all three stations available across a wide area taking in virtually of the country apart from parts of the North West and South West.

“This is about growing radio choice, making radio services available to more people, building new national brands and delivering long-term growth for our group. We are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the rollout of DAB.By combining our strong FM presence with national DAB coverage, we will bring more choice to listeners. We have a clear ambition to become the largest radio group in Ireland within the next three to five years. While that is an ambitious goal, our track record in growing audiences across all our stations gives us great confidence in achieving it,” added Branigan.

Bay Broadcasting’s DAB expansion signals a confident move into the future of Irish radio combining trusted brands, strong audience performance, and cutting-edge technology to deliver an enhanced listening experience for audiences nationwide.

Branigan describes the arrival of Radio Nova, Sunshine 106.8 and Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio on national DAB as ‘imminent’.

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