Downtown Radio Totally Explained

Everything about Downtown Radio totally explained

Downtown Radio is an Adult Contemporary music radio station based in Newtownards, County Down, that serves all of Northern Ireland using a network of FM and AM transmitters.

History

The station, also known as DTR or simply Downtown, began broadcasting on 16 March 1976 - the same day as Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigned. The station had a mini-coup, breaking the news over an hour before BBC Radio Ulster.
   Downtown Radio has very much become part of the broadcasting landscape of Northern Ireland. Many of its presenters, such as Johnny Hero, Jerry Lang, Trevor 'Big T' Campbell, Dougi Marshall, and Candy Devine are household names (Campbell and Devine have been with Downtown since it began broadcasting).
   The station has been very highly regarded in the past for its news output, and has been a regular stop-off point for radio journalists covering Northern Ireland's Troubles over 30 years. Changes in management made in 2007, as well as the success of the peace process, have led to Downtown reducing its news output somewhat. It is notable for being one of the few Independent Local Radio stations to still cater for minority tastes such as gospel and jazz. The country music programmes broadcast several times a week are among Downtown's highest listenership ratings. It has also been the springboard for the careers of Eamonn Holmes and ITN reporter John Draper.
   Past presenters have included:

Ivan Martin
Richard Young
Michael 'Hendi' Henderson
John Paul Ballantine
George Jones
Lynda Jayne (now deceased, she was married to Trevor Campbell)
Frank Mitchell
John Daly
Davy Sims
Stephen Woods
Derek Marsden (Deceased)
Alec Fennell
Ronan Kelly
Ken Bruce
John Greer (Deceased)
Wendy Austin
Janice Elliott

Expansion

Downtown was initially only contracted to broadcast to the Greater Belfast area, on 1026khz AM and 96FM. However, following the collapse of plans for a station in the Derry region (Northern Sound) in 1983, Downtown applied to the former Independent Broadcasting Authority to extend its coverage. Transmitters covering the North West, the Causeway Coast and Fermanagh/South Tyrone were opened between 1985 and 1987, and the station briefly rebranded itself as 'DTRFM' to reflect its new audience reach.
New FM transmitters in South Down/Armagh, and Mid and East Antrim opened in the 1990s to improve reception in those areas.

Cool FM launch

The station reverted to Downtown Radio again in 1990 following the introduction of its sister station, Cool FM.

Present

Downtown's main competitors are BBC Radio Ulster, Belfast CityBeat and new Belfast station U105. It is part of the Big City Network. Current presenters include:

Johnny Hero

Candy Devine

Caroline Fleck

Jerry Lang

Robert Skates

Henry Owens

Paul Thomas

Dougi Marshall

Lisa Flavelle

Trevor CampbellFurther Information

Get more info on 'Downtown Radio'.

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