- Dune FM
-
Dune 107.9 
Broadcast area Southport, Ormskirk and Sefton Frequency 107.9 MHz First air date 12 October 1997 Format Contemporary Audience share 13.4% (June 2009, [1]) Power 100 watts Owner Niocom Ltd. Website www.dune1079.co.uk Dune 107.9 (formerly known as Dune FM) is a radio channel which broadcasts from Southport, covering the town and the surrounding borough of Sefton as well as a large part of neighbouring West Lancashire[2].
Contents
Origins
Dune FM originally broadcast two RSL temporary licences in 1993. At first the station covered Southport from makeshift studios at the rear of the town's Floral Hall complex, with the Transmitter on the roof of The Southport Theatre, then on the 2nd RSL from make-shift studio's above the Victoria Health & Leisure club, the transmitter that time was at Greenbank High School in the Hillside area of the town.
The station then broadcast two RSLs as "Magic Dune FM" from the Studio's of Hospital Radio Ormskirk General, with a target area of the town and neighbouring West Lancashire and North Sefton, and a transmitter close to the present site of Aughton near Ormskirk.
The Radio Authority eventually advertised a small-scale local licence (known as a Sallie) for the towns of Southport and Ormskirk and the Merseyside borough of Sefton, which Dune fm won following a strong contest with 2 other consortia.
Full-time licence
The station was originally owned by local shareholders, including Steve Dickson (currently head of the local Chamber of Commerce), Broadcast Industry Mogul David Maker, Philip Hilton (a production assistant at BBC Radio Merseyside), John Cooper, a former travel rep and the original owner of Blackpool's Radio Wave, John Barnett.
The studios have been on the seaside of the town for the entirety of their professional era, at an old substation building on Victoria Way, re-named The Power Station.
Changing hands
The station was sold to Forward Media in 1999, backed by venture capital finance and chaired by David Maker. This is when the station had its hey-day with the largest ever listening figures.
In 2004 the station was bought by The Local Radio Company Plc.[1] who started large scale networked programmes, which saw the local audience diminish.
In June 2008, Dune FM was bought from TLRC by NIOCOM Limited,[2] Since then the station is now called Dune 107.9.
Presenters
Weekdays
- Brendan Kearney (Breakfast)
- Paul Jordan (Daytimes)
- Rob Charles (Drive)
- Dave Turley (Evenings)
Weekends
- Brent Williams (Saturday Breakfast)(Sunday Daytimes)
- Brendan Kearney (Saturday Daytimes)
- Neil Jackson ("Sport" - Saturday Afternoons)
- Martin Hovden (Saturday Evenings)
- Paul Tasker (Saturday Evenings)
- Gary King ("Totally 80s With Gary King" - Saturday Lates)
- John Cooper (Sunday Breakfast)
- Andy Hilbert (Sunday Afternoons)
- Dave Wilcox (Sunday Evenings)
- Dave Quinn And Trevor Ford (Sunday Lates)
References
External links
Categories:- Radio stations in Lancashire
- Radio stations in Merseyside
- Radio stations established in 1997
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