Radio Maldwyn
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| Radio Maldwyn - the Magic 756 | |
| Broadcast area | Mid Wales, western Shropshire, northern Herefordshire (approximately; signal is prominent in some areas of North East Wales) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 756 kHz |
| First air date | July 1, 1993 |
| Format | Varied content |
| Owner | Murfin Music International/community co-operative |
Radio Maldwyn - the Magic 756 is a local commercial radio station serving Mid Wales and the English border counties. Their transmitter site is currently based a few miles outside of Newtown.
The station began broadcasting at 07.56 on Thursday July 1, 1993. The staions original Manager and Programme Controller was John Barnes, the original Sales Manager was Lisa Price.
The stations original presenters included
- Lee Thompson
- John Barnes (Now at BBC Radio Lancashire)
- Tony Paul
- Mark Williams
- Keith Middleton
- Nick Jones (Now at Sunshine 855)
- Ashley Owen
- Alan Gooden.
- Steve Edge (now at Sunshine 855)
Later presenters included
- Steve Marriott,
- Nick Parton (still at Maldwyn)
- JJ (Now at 96.4 The Wave)
- Mark Edwards (Now at Sunshine Hereford)
The early days of Maldwyn were marked by a "big" station sound that combined professional commercial radio with a strong community ethos.
Programming initially ran live from 0700 - 1900 with the Supergold service from Chiltern Radio overnight. The station increased local hours to 2100 a few months after going on air. The station broadcast the Network News service provided by Chiltern Radio before switching to IRN when Network News closed. Maldwyn was the only station outside the Chiltern owned stations that made full use of the automation service available on Supergold to insert local news, commercials and features in network programming. This was something of an innovation for a small station in 1993.
Originally a local station formed as a community co-operative, Radio Maldwyn became a Limited Company in the late 1990s, with original shareholders having 51% of the new company and 49% owned by Murfin Music International, owners also at the time of Sunshine 855 and Classic Hits in Hereford and Worcester (now also named Sunshine Radio).
