[cma-l] Ofcom Update on Local TV in the UK

[CMA-L]

Ofcom has today issued a progress update on local TV, two years since the
first licences were awarded.

Local TV is a new form of broadcasting, enabled through legislation passed
by Parliament in 2011. Ofcom is responsible for licensing local TV stations
on digital terrestrial TV and has now issued 30 licences across the UK, to
a wide range of different organisations, small and large.

Six local TV channels are now on-air, having broadcast some 6,400 hours of
local programmes to a potential audience of six million across the UK,
while more than 10 stations are preparing for launch before February 2015.

Two years on from awarding the first licences (in Grimsby and Brighton),
the channels now on-air are:

   - Estuary TV <http://www.estuary.tv/>, Grimsby (broadcasting from
   November 2013)
   - Mustard TV <http://www.mustardtv.co.uk/>, Norwich (broadcasting from
   March 2014)
   - London Live <http://www.londonlive.co.uk/>, London (broadcasting from
   March 2014)
   - Notts TV <http://www.nottstv.uk.com/>, Nottingham (broadcasting from
   May 2014)
   - STV Glasgow <http://www.glasgow.stv.tv/>, Glasgow (broadcasting from
   June 2014)
   - Latest TV <http://www.thelatest.co.uk/brighton/category/tv>, Brighton
   & Hove (broadcasting from August 2014)

A second phase of licensing is already under way and there is continued
interest from potential applicants in launching channels across the UK. In
July, Ofcom invited applications for new local TV channels in seven areas -
Aberdeen, Ayr, Carlisle, Dundee, Forth Valley, Inverness and Stoke on Trent.

*Licensing local TV*

Local TV licensees are varied in type and size, reflecting the diverse
nature of the UK demographic and geography. Licensees range from
not-for-profit community ventures to new commercial partnerships between
local newspapers, TV production companies and educational institutions.

In awarding local TV licences, Ofcom conducts a thorough assessment of the
bids to select the one that best meets the requirements set by Parliament,
such as meeting the needs of the local area.

Bidders must demonstrate that they would be financially sustainable and
provide evidence that funding is in place, or would be if their application
was successful. When awarding a licence, Ofcom carefully considers these
factors and makes the best decision it can on the available evidence.

However, the nature of awarding licences for a new type of service in a
competitive media market means that it is very unlikely that all channels
will succeed. This is an inherent feature of the nature of awarding a large
number of licences for a new service across very different parts of the UK.

We note that the holder of the Birmingham licence has gone into
administration. The administrator is looking to transfer the licence to
another party that could launch the service (which would require Ofcom’s
consent). If this proves not possible, Ofcom would re-advertise promptly
the licence in Birmingham.

ENDS

Source: http://media.ofcom.org.uk/news/2014/local-tv-progress/

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Community Media Association
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Canstream Internet Radio & Video
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