Nova 96.9 (call sign: 2SYD) is a commercial radio station operating in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The station is owned by

NOVA Entertainment NOVA Entertainment is an Australian entertainment company that operates commercial radio networks (and associated digital brands) in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. NOVA Entertainment is owned by Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria Pty Lt ...

along with sister station, smoothfm 95.3

Audience

In 2014 Nova had a 4% share of the Sydney audience on average, which is en par with rival ABC FM. ''Kate, Tim & Marty'' was the highest rated Nova show receiving 2.9% of Sydney's Drive time audience. Smallzy's Surgery receives a 0.5% share for the nighttime slot and Fitzy & Wippa received an 0.9% of Sydney's Breakfast audience. In November 2014, Nova held a 0.7% for breakfast and 2.6% share for drive time.

History

One of the driving forces behind the creation of Nova was the growing demographic of youth who were embracing the commercialised anti-pop movement fronted by such artists as

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

and

Spiderbait Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1989 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004, the group's cover version of the 1930s Lea ...

, but for whom

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

, operated by the publicly funded

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, had no commercial incentives to offer. Initially the music selection on Nova 96.9 was very similar to that of

, and a number of the station presenters, most notably former breakfast hosts

Merrick and Rosso Merrick and Rosso were an Australian comedian, comedy duo active from 1996 to 2009, composed of Merrick Watts (Merrick) and Tim Ross (Rosso). The duo began in stand up comedy, and first came together when they teamed up for what was intended to ...

, which were also former

staff. However, while

has retained its alternative style, Nova has drifted towards a more commercial format. Meanwhile, other stations have adopted Nova's more varied programming style, to the point where Nova is now hard to tell apart from other commercial FM stations. Along with its sister stations Nova 100 Melbourne, Nova 106.9 Brisbane, Nova 91.9 Adelaide and Nova 93.7 Perth, Nova claims to be Australia's leading brand in the Women of the 45-54 Age demographic. Nova 96.9 are major sponsors of

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

and

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL) club the

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...

Programs

Weekdays

* Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, 6 am – 9 am * Mel Tracina, 9 am – 2 pm * The Chrissie Swan Show, 2 pm – 4 pm * Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel, 4 pm – 6 pm * Ben, Liam & Belle, 6 pm – 8 pm * Smallzy's Surgery, 8 pm – 10 pm * Late Nights with Aaron Rich, 10 pm – 12 am

Weekends

* Nova Nation, 6 pm – 12 am (Saturday) * Nova Nation With Dave Kelly, 8-9 pm & 10-11:59 pm (Saturday) * Jase & Lauren around Australia, 6 am – 10 am (Sunday) * The Maddy Rowe Aus Music Show, 6 pm – 7 pm (Sunday) * Confidential on Nova with J.Mo and Tanya Hennessy, 7 pm – 8 pm (Sunday)

News

* Ash Gardner (breakfast) * Michelle Stephenson (National Drive/National News Manager) * Katie Hill (weekends)

References

External links

1Radio - Click & listen to Nova 96.9

Nova 96.9 FM Website

NOVA Entertainment
{{Sydney FM Nova Entertainment Radio stations in Sydney Contemporary hit radio stations in Australia Radio stations established in 2001 Nova (radio network)