About Nova 91.9

Nova 91.9

Nova 91.9 (callsign 5ADL) is a commercial radio station in Adelaide, South Australia, owned by Nova Entertainment as part of the Nova Network. Broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format on 91.9 MHz FM (with a 99.1 MHz repeater for the Adelaide Foothills), it launched in August 2004 — the fourth station in DMG Radio's Nova rollout, after Sydney (2001), Melbourne (2001) and Perth (2002). Its breakfast show is Jodie & Haysey, with networked daytime and drive programming including Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie. Its sister station is FIVEaa, co-located at Hindmarsh Square. Directories list novafm.com.au/station/nova919 as its website; no website URL is asserted in this profile's frontmatter.

Overview

Nova 91.9 is Adelaide's hit music station: the CHR format for the under-40s — the Nova Network's Adelaide voice, the local breakfast, the networked days. Where SAFM, Triple M and KIIS 102.3 split the adult market, Nova plays the hits: the pop, the chart, the youth. The 2004 launch — after DMG paid $24 million for the licence, outbidding Macquarie, RG Capital, Hot Tomato and ARN — gave Adelaide its first new commercial FM station in 24 years (since SAFM in 1980).

History

The Adelaide gap — 24 years without a new commercial FM, from SAFM's 1980 launch to Nova's 2004 — was the market's stasis: the four FMs, the two AMs, no new entrant. The ABA's 2003 licence — the $24 million auction, the five bidders — broke it: the new frequency, the new competitor, the CHR the market lacked. Nova 91.9's August 2004 launch was Adelaide's radio renewal: the first new commercial voice in a generation.
The callsign — 5ADL — is the identity: the 5 for South Australia, the ADL for Adelaide Airport's code. The 20 kW ERP — the Mount Lofty transmission — covers the metro: the city, the suburbs, the hills. The 99.1 foothills repeater — 2 kW — fills the gaps: the eastern suburbs, the hills' shadow. The 20th birthday — August 2024 — marked two decades: the disruptor, become the institution.
The $24 million licence — the 2003 ABA auction — was the price of entry: DMG outbidding Macquarie, RG Capital, Hot Tomato and ARN for Adelaide's first new commercial FM in 24 years. The Nova rollout — Sydney 2001, Melbourne 2001, Perth 2002, Adelaide 2004, Brisbane 2005 — was Paul Thompson's disruptor strategy: the heritage stations' challenger, the CHR format, the youth audience. Adelaide — the fourth cab off the rank — got the Nova treatment: the new studios, the new brand, the new sound.

In 2003, DMG Radio purchased an FM licence from the Australian Broadcasting Authority for $24 million — beating Macquarie Radio, RG Capital, Hot Tomato and the Australian Radio Network. Nova 91.9 launched in August 2004 — the fourth Nova station, after Nova 96.9 Sydney (April 2001), Nova 100 Melbourne (December 2001) and Nova 93.7 Perth (December 2002), and before Nova 106.9 Brisbane (April 2005). The DMG rollout — founder Paul Thompson's "radio disruptor," built to take on the heritage stations — reached Adelaide: the new CHR competitor in a market of adult stations.

In October 2004, the station shifted to Hindmarsh Square alongside FIVEaa — DMG's Adelaide hub, the FM hit station and the AM talk station under one roof. DMG Radio became Nova Entertainment in February 2014 (after Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria took full ownership in September 2012). In August 2024, Nova 91.9 turned 20.

Adelaide — the festival city — is Nova's market: the young professionals, the students, the festival-goers, the hit-music generation. The Jodie & Haysey breakfast — the local morning show — wakes them: the Adelaide talk, the national network's polish. The drive — Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, networked — drives them home: the comedy, the celebrities, the country's biggest radio duo. The 91.9 frequency — the dial position since 2004 — is the brand: Adelaide's Nova, Adelaide's hits.

Programming

Nova 91.9 broadcasts Top 40 (CHR): Jodie & Haysey on breakfast (weekdays 6–9am), with networked programming across the day — Mel Tracina, The Joel Creasey Show, The Chrissie Swan Show, Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie on drive, Ricki-Lee and Tim, NovaBoy Jamz, Nova 9s and The Maddy Rowe Aus Music Show. Each Nova FM station has its own local breakfast, with daytime, drive and night shifts networked. On DAB+, Nova offers Nova Jamz (rhythmic CHR) in Adelaide.

The CHR battle — Nova 91.9 vs SAFM — is Adelaide's hit-music contest: the two CHRs, the young audience, the breakfast wars. The Nova point of difference — the network's polish, the local breakfast, the 20-year heritage — holds it: the disruptor's brand, the institution's ratings. The under-40 women — the Nova demographic, the 45–54 strength nationally — are the core: the shoppers, the workers, the hit-music generation.

Coverage & Audience

Nova 91.9 broadcasts on 91.9 MHz FM (5ADL, ERP 20 kW) to Adelaide, with a 99.1 MHz repeater (2 kW) for the Adelaide Foothills. Its audience is the CHR demographic: the under-40s, the hit-music listeners — the market the 2004 launch was built for. The Nova Network claims leadership among women aged 45–54 nationally; in Adelaide, Nova 91.9 is the youth end of Nova Entertainment's duopoly with FIVEaa's talk audience.

The Hindmarsh Square hub — since October 2004 — houses the duopoly: Nova 91.9's CHR, FIVEaa's talk, the FM and the AM under one roof. The DMG-to-Nova evolution — DMG Radio Australia (2004–12), Illyria's 50% (2009), full Illyria ownership (2012), Nova Entertainment (2014) — is the corporate story: the UK's DMGT, Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria, the Australian radio group. The Adelaide business — the FM hit station, the AM talk station — is the unique pair: the only market where Nova runs both.
The Nova Network's five stations — Sydney's 96.9, Melbourne's 100, Brisbane's 106.9, Adelaide's 91.9, Perth's 93.7 (the ARN joint venture) — are the national CHR chain: the same brand, the local breakfasts, the networked days. Adelaide's 91.9 — the fourth launch, the $24 million bet — is the network's South Australian voice: the festival city's hits, the Nova sound, the disruptor's legacy.

Ownership

Nova 91.9 is owned by Nova Entertainment (Nova Entertainment (Adelaide) Pty Ltd) as part of the Nova Network — five metro CHR stations (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, the last a joint venture with ARN). Its sister station is FIVEaa (5AA) — Adelaide's commercial talkback, co-located at Hindmarsh Square since October 2004. The ownership history: DMG Radio Australia (2004–2012, with Illyria's 50% from 2009), Nova Entertainment (from 2012).

The network shows — Mel Tracina's mornings, Joel Creasey's hour, Chrissie Swan's afternoons, Fitzy & Wippa's drive, Ricki-Lee & Tim's nights — are the Nova sound: the national personalities, the local breakfast, the CHR format's stars. The DAB+ extensions — Nova Jamz (rhythmic CHR) in Adelaide, Nova Nation, the throwbacks — are the digital dial: the Nova brand, multiplied. The Nova Player app — the streaming, the podcasts — is the platform: the 91.9 signal, everywhere.
The launch team — the 2004 pioneers, Jarrod Walsh among them ('been at the station since its launch in 2004,' later Assistant Program Director) — built it: the passion for Nova, the passion for Adelaide, the entertaining shows. The two decades — 2004 to 2024, the 20th birthday — are the tenure: the disruptor's staff, become the veterans. The Nova brand — the CHR, the youth, the hits — endures: Adelaide's 91.9, still playing them.

Digital Presence

Directories list novafm.com.au/station/nova919 as the station's website; the station streams on the Nova Player app — the 91.9 signal, everywhere. From the $24 million licence to the August 2004 launch to the 2024 20th birthday: Nova 91.9 — Adelaide's hit music station, the CHR disruptor become the institution — on 91.9, playing the hits.