Local TV

[Superdave]

After 13 months on Furlough, it looks like London Live are finally bringing back news - on weekdays at least. According to their schedule, an hour long bulletin is back from Monday.

A few recent stories have been filed on their ‘new’ website by Head of News, Anthony Baxter, who’s lately been working at LBC News.

[Ash101]

I was shocked to notice when flicking around the other day, That's TV is only offering 10 minutes of 'news' at 6pm till 6:10pm.

Some hours are TJC but most are filled with endless music videos split into decade chunks

I presume this is pandemic related too? Surely time to move back to a 'better' service, or give it up!

[Neil Jones]

What "better" service? Majority of the local TV "services" are just simulcasts of something else with a bit of shoddily produced "news" hemmed in, and this was the case long before Covid. This is true of the Made In... channels, which are primarily just rebroadcasts of CBS Reality with the occasional opt-out. I probably wouldn't mind so much if the rebroadcast was a channel that wasn't on Freeview, but when the choice of rebroadcast is another Freeview channel, something has gone wrong somewhere with the entire system.

Why this lame horse project continues to exist I really don't know.

[Brekkie]

It really is a joke but the licences were never realistic in the first place with requirements to produce up to 42 hours of non-news content a week in Cardiff for example. To be fair they gave it a go to start with but it was never going to be viable - I don't think even BBC2 produces that amount of original UK programming a week.

London though is a joke as that is the one market where it should have worked. The fact it didn't says it all, but I think in their case it is more about the product than the concept.

[This is UTV]

Can Ofcom not force them off EPG slot 7/8? It is such a waste of such a good chanel number for the absolute dross all these various local channels show.

With the new Freeview EPG rules that slots can now be traded (has this rule come into force now or still pending?)...anyway are we likely to see certain local channels trading their prime channel 7/8 slot with another broadcaster lower down the EPG?

[Omnipresent]

On a positive note, Notts TV has secured funding under the Local Democracy Reporting Service to employ three reporters:

https://nottstv.com/notts-tv-awarded-loc...e-contract

It looks like they are the only local channel to have secured funding through this scheme.

[RR]

With the new Freeview EPG rules that slots can now be traded (has this rule come into force now or still pending?)...anyway are we likely to see certain local channels trading their prime channel 7/8 slot with another broadcaster lower down the EPG?

They only have channel 7 from their local transmitters - and the regional split only works on certain multiplexes - so there is zero chance of the EPG number being traded.

[channel4squares1]

I may have mentioned this on the blue website but when they sometimes shown films on Notts TV, on some occasions, the film ends before the film even ends with somewhere between 15 minutes to an hour's remaining.

I'm pretty sure most of them are in either public domain (the lone star films being an example) or the same old films being shown week after week after week (like HTV's Divorce Hers). But I'm not sure if there's many new original programming on lately other than Notts Nostalgia, Ey up Notts and some other chat shows.

[Jexedback]

I was shocked to notice when flicking around the other day, That's TV is only offering 10 minutes of 'news' at 6pm till 6:10pm.

I presume this is pandemic related too? Surely time to move back to a 'better' service, or give it up!

Ofcom say all licence obligations have been reinstated by September, so perhaps an increase in local content then?
Some hours are TJC but most are filled with endless music videos split into decade chunks

[nwtv2003]

I like some, have access to both Thats TV Manchester and Your Manchester TV. Considering the latter only sprung up more recently on the ‘privileged’ slot of Channel 99, it has more local content than the service on Channel 7. 10 minutes of local news at 6pm when your key audience is probably watching BBC1 or ITV is really really not smart. Part of me thinks even Ofcom don’t seem to care about such inadequate local services anymore.

That’s also not to say Your Manchester TV is great either, but the latter seems to be fulfilling more of an obligation.

[Neil Jones]

I like some, have access to both Thats TV Manchester and Your Manchester TV. Considering the latter only sprung up more recently on the ‘privileged’ slot of Channel 99, it has more local content than the service on Channel 7. 10 minutes of local news at 6pm when your key audience is probably watching BBC1 or ITV is really really not smart. Part of me thinks even Ofcom don’t seem to care about such inadequate local services anymore.

The legislation that was passed says "A local multiplex licence continues in force for the period specified by OFCOM in the licence, such period not to exceed twelve years." The licence for Your Manchester runs until until 25 November 2025. I believe they were all granted 10 years, not entirely sure if they have the right to auto renew early like ITV/C4/C5 did, they were done in 2012 for a 2015 "start".


That being said, Local TV is in such a dire state it would be surprising if any of them want to renew, or if the framework for this project lasts after 2025. With any luck it'll be put out of its misery at that stage, though sod's law dictates that it'll probably limp on in pain after 2025.

[Ash101]

https://twitter.com/ThatsTVGold/status/1...7714475022

Twitter bio suggest this is launching on Freeview 91 & Sky 187.

No other information at present, but I noticed on the main That's TV website it now says they're "Celebrating the decades" - no real mention of anything local...

[London Lite]

Isn't this just going to be the same crap music video channel that is hogging the local tv LCNs without the local news?

[Neil Jones]

Wouldn't be surprised now if by this point anything "local" consists of the news. outside of that why bother? Made in Birmingham just airs CBS Reality all day for example, and even includes the programming from CBS in its own trailers during said hours.

Nice to see diversification of output has already started. Assuming this That'sTVGold is more successful than the local TV offerings I can see the entire output being swapped to being MTV on the cheap - or the Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep if we're going to start with a 70s theme ) *ahem* I'll get my coat.

[nwtv2003]

That's TV Gold has already appeared on LCN 91 from Winter Hill/Manchester Local TV MUX. It isn't broadcasting anything, nor an MHEG caption.