The station originally took to the air in Cardiff only. Known as CBC (Cardiff Broadcasting Company), the station launched on 11 April 1980 on broadcasting on FM and AM. Following the closure of neighbouring Gwent Broadcasting in April 1985, CBC began relaying its service as a temporary measure to southern Gwent on FM and AM. This became permanent when CBC re-launched as Red Dragon Radio on 14 October 1985. Initially, there were separate drivetime shows for Glamorgan and Gwent, but these were dropped for a single service by the early 1990s.