Beginnings
As Radio Haldon Limited DevonAir Radio won the franchise on June 16th 1979. The Secretary of State approved a change of company name to DevonAir Radio Limited on the 4th October 1979.
On
the completion of its Exeter studios DevonAir started
broadcasts to the East Devon region on the 7th November 1980
between 06.00 hrs - 21.00 hrs. Transmissions to the South
Devon area which included output from the Torquay studios,
the provision of the world's first regular split broadcasts
and the extension of hours to midnight commenced on December
12th 1980.
After a fierce battle for the franchise the station lost its franchise in 1993 and closed down at the end of 1994.
"The momentary silence and atmospheric crackle was deafening as an English county drew its breath to savour the moment. When that moment was over - so was DevonAir Radio." What The Papers Said
These pages provide an interesting account of DevonAir
through its extra ordinary popularity as a local talks with music
station into the fight for survival, the sell-out and finally the loss
of the franchise.
(Picture above: Engineer Howard Pelling in Control Two at the DevonAir Studio Centre in Exeter driving a live edition of the weekday news programme DevonDay, presented on this occasion from Studio Two (circa 1981) - image: © Nick Johnson). Picture right: The advertisement hoarding outside the Exeter premises during 1980 - image © Westward Television and TSWFTA)