Kevin Branigan appointeed CEO of Ireland's Classic Hits

Kevin Branigan appointed CEO of Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio

Kevin Branigan has been appointed as Chief Executive of Classic Hits. The appointment took place on 1st April and sees Branigan now as CEO of both Radio Nova and Classic Hits. He has been CEO of Nova since 2010. The move signals an intention for Bay to run both services closer than before under a joint strategy.

Said Branigan, “I’m very excited to take up the role of CEO of Classic Hits as we start a new, ten-year, broadcasting licence. We’re one of the largest commerical radio services in Ireland, with a TSA of 2.3M people. We’re the only multicity radio service in Ireland, covering 8 of the most populated counties in the country – Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Clare – with 296,000 tuning in every single week. It’s a great, fun, radio station to be involved with”. Branigan replaces Sean Ashmore in the role; Ashmore joined the station as CEO in 2013.
“The early years were challenging and Sean did a very skilled job in bringing Classic Hits to its current market position, where we tripled the audience and brought the station to the cusp of viability during the first ten years of the service. His stewartship of the company has been hugely successful”. Ashmore continues in his role as CEO of Sunshine 106.8, also based in Castleforbes House, Dublin 1.

“We have very ambitious plans for Classic Hits. We’ve recently implemented a number of programme changes, primarily the launch of our new breakfast show with Lucy Kennedy & Colm Hayes. Colm & Lucy bring a vibrant, upbeat and family-friendly show to Classic Hits; they have a great on-air relationship and that will develop over the coming months. We’ve also brought new talent to the station with Barry Lang joining the weekend lineup”, said Branigan.  

Separately, the station has recently embarked on a plan to increase coverage in Cork, Limerick & Galway, with further expansion planned for East Galway and the Dublin commuter belt later this year.

Bay was originally a 22.5% shareholder of Classic Hits (formerly 4FM) when it launched in 2019 and became 99% shareholder of the service in 2011. The service rebranded as Classic Hits in 2017. Both Nova and Classic Hits signed new ten-year licences with the BAI in December 2020. 

Category: Appointments