Radio Andorra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Radio Andorra is the name of one of the oldest French private radios, which from 1939 until 1981 had a broadcast license in Andorra.
[edit] History
Broadcasting began on 7 August 1939 by Jacques Trémoulet, who was also the owner of the broadcasting company Radiophonie du Midi, which was already broadcast in Toulouse, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Agen. With the location of Andorra it bypassed the state monopoly on broadcasting by not operating on French soil. On its first broadcast Radio Andorra was exclusively a music program, interrupted only by the famous greeting "Aqui Radio Andorra." During the Second World War, the music program was broadcasted to the soldiers in France to North Africa. Both German and Allied forces attempted to control the radio without success because the neutrality of Andorra served as a protective shield.
By the end of the war Jacques Trémoulet was sentenced to death by the French judiciary because of collaboration. He first fled to Spain, then to Switzerland, and finally to France, wher he was acquitted in 1949. During this time, Radio Andorra was massively hindered, as it was hard to receive transmissions in France.
After a slow climb in the 1950s and early 1960s Sud Radio competed with Radio Andorra. It was supported by the French government since its foundation in 1968. The last years of Radio Andorra were characterized by a lack of funds and a reduced power transmitter so that only in the vicinity of Andorra it could be heard.
Because of the desire for the establishment of a separate broadcasting network the Principality of Andorra broadcasting license expired in 1981. However, the transmission tower, on Engolasters-See in Encamp, is still standing.
