Radio Exe launches funding campaign to survive

A fall in advertising revenue during the coronavirus pandemic has prompted Radio Exe to launch a crowdfunding campaign.

The Devon-based station is asking listeners and businesses to donate money to see it through the current crisis.

Radio Exe points out that it is the last remaining commercial radio station operating in the area, having recently seen Radio Plymouth bought by Bauer Media and Torbay’s The Breeze regionalised as part of GHR.

Managing director Paul Nero says: “We feel honoured and privileged to hold an FM commercial radio licence and we’ve been committed to producing high-quality programmes since acquiring the licence from a national broadcaster in 2011.

“However, most of our advertisers are in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors; the ones hardest hit by the crisis. In turn, that’s had a knock-on effect on us.

“We’ve created a series of rewards for both consumers and businesses that can be bought during the period of the crowdfunding campaign, which we’ve put together with the help of Devon-based company, the eponymous Crowdfunder. The target we’ve set will see us through to around Easter, by which time we hope the advertising market will have recovered somewhat.”

The last pre-lockdown audience figures show that Radio Exe has 32,000 weekly listeners.