Local television in the United Kingdom
Local television in the United Kingdom, described in legislation as Local Digital Television Programme Services (L-DTPS), provides a television station for a specific local area. Successful applicants are awarded a sole licence for their chosen area, and are expected to locate their studios within the same area. They broadcast on the digital terrestrial (DTT) system, as used by the national Freeview service.
The independent regulator, Ofcom, invites applications in all areas where transmission is technically possible, and assesses proposals against the statutory criteria.[1]
Availability
The multiplexes that the stations operate on are operated by Comux, owned by the local TV broadcasters with operations run by Canis Media.[2]
Most of the stations broadcast on DTT channel 8 in England and Northern Ireland and - following the closure of BBC Three, vacating the channel - will move to channel 7 on 5th April 2016, with the exception of London and Liverpool which will remain on channel 8. In Scotland and Wales the stations were originally given channel 45; however, following a number of channel closures, channel 23 was used. These services will move to channel 8 on 5th April 2016.
Some stations are also available (in their local areas) via cable (Virgin Media) channel 157 and satellite (Sky) channel 117.
Phase 1
In May 2012, twenty one areas were selected to invite bids for providing a local TV service.[3]
| Primary location | Transmitter | Winning operator[4] | Launch date | Other bids[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | Divis | NVTV | 29 September 2014 | Made in Belfast |
| Birmingham | Sutton Coldfield | City8 † | 28 February 2015 | Bham TV, Made in Birmingham, YourTV Birmingham |
| Brighton and Hove | Whitehawk Hill | Latest TV | 28 August 2014 | none |
| Bristol | Mendip | Made in Bristol | 8 October 2014 | none |
| Cardiff | Wenvoe | Made in Cardiff | 15 October 2014 | Cardiff Local TV |
| Edinburgh | Craigkelly | STV Edinburgh[6] | 12 January 2015 | Edinburgh News Network, Made in Edinburgh, Metro8 Edinburgh |
| Glasgow | Black Hill | STV Glasgow[6] | 2 June 2014 | Glasgow TV, Made in Glasgow, Metro8 Glasgow |
| Grimsby | Belmont | Estuary TV[7] | 26 November 2013 | none |
| Leeds | Emley Moor | Made in Leeds[8] | 6 November 2014 | Leeds TV, Metro8 Leeds, NORTH, YourTV Leeds |
| Liverpool | Winter Hill
Storeton |
Bay TV Liverpool[9] | 4 December 2014 | Made in Liverpool, Metro8 Liverpool, Our-TV, YourTV Liverpool |
| London | Crystal Palace
Croydon |
London Live[10] | 31 March 2014 | London8, LondonTV, Made in London, YourTV London |
| Manchester | Winter Hill | That's Manchester | 31 May 2015 | Made in Manchester, Manchester News Channel, MCR TV, Metro8 Manchester, YourTV Manchester |
| Sunderland & Newcastle | Pontop Pike | Made in Tyne & Wear[11] | 12 November 2014 | Metro8 Newcastle, NEON-TV, YourTV Newcastle |
| Norwich | Tacolneston | Mustard TV[12][13] | 24 March 2014 | NR ONE |
| Nottingham | Waltham
Nottingham |
Notts TV | 27 May 2014 | Television Nottingham |
| Oxford | Oxford | That's Oxford[14] | 17 April 2015 | Oxford 8, Oxford 8 |
| Plymouth | Caradon Hill | not awarded | N/A | none |
| Blackpool/Preston | Winter Hill | That's Lancashire [15] | 24 August 2015 | Metro8 Preston, YourTV Blackpool & Preston |
| Sheffield | Sheffield | Sheffield Live TV | 23 September 2014 | Metro8 Sheffield, YourTV Sheffield |
| Southampton/Portsmouth | Rowridge | That's Solent | 26 November 2014 | TV Solent |
| Swansea | Kilvey Hill | not awarded | N/A | none |
In August 2012 fifty seven applications were received to provide these services.[16][17] Bristol, Brighton and Hove, and Grimsby attracted only one bid each.[18] Plymouth and Swansea received no bids from potential broadcasters.[19]
† The owners of Birmingham licence City8 went into administration before the channel launched. The licence was re-awarded to another operator, Big Centre TV.[20]
Phase 2
In March 2013, Ofcom announced another thirty areas selected to invite bids for local television services, in addition to re-advertising the previously un-awarded Swansea and Plymouth locations.[21]
| Primary location | Transmitter | Winning operator[4] | Launch date | Other bids[5][22] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Durris | Around Aberdeen (STV Group plc) | ||
| Ayr | Darvel | Ayrshire Today (STV Group plc) | ||
| Bangor | Llanddona | not awarded[23] | Bay TV Gwynedd | |
| Basingstoke | Hannington | That's Hampshire | ||
| Bedford | not awarded | |||
| Bromsgrove | not awarded | |||
| Cambridge | Madingley | Cambridge TV[24] | 18 August 2015 | none |
| Carlisle | Caldbeck | That's Carlisle | ||
| Derry | Londonderry | not awarded | ||
| Dundee | Angus | View from the Bridges (STV Group plc) | ||
| Guildford | Guildford | That's Surrey[25] | ||
| Hereford | not awarded | |||
| Inverness | Rosemarkie | |||
| Kidderminster | Kidderminster | not awarded | ||
| Limavady | not awarded | |||
| Lincolnshire | Belmont | That's Lincolnshire | 7 June 2016 | |
| Luton | Sandy Heath | not awarded | ||
| Maidstone/Tonbridge | Bluebell Hill | KMTV † | TVKent | |
| Malvern | Malvern | not awarded | ||
| Middlesbrough | Bilsdale | Made in Teesside[26] | TeesVision | |
| Mold | Moel-y-Parc | Bay TV Clwyd[27] | Serch TV Mold | |
| Plymouth | Caradon Hill | not awarded | ||
| Reading | Hannington | That's Reading[28] | ||
| Salisbury | Salisbury | That's Salisbury[29] | ||
| Scarborough | Oliver's Mount | Yorkshire Coast TV | ||
| Stoke-on-Trent | not awarded | Bay TV Stoke | ||
| Stratford-upon-Avon | Lark Stoke | Upon 8 | ||
| Swansea | Kilvey Hill | Bay TV Swansea[27] | Love Swansea | |
| Tonbridge | Bluebell Hill | see Maidstone | ||
| York | Bilsdale | The York Channel[26] | none |
† Maidstone and Tonbridge were initially advertised separately.
References
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External links
- Indicative locations for local television multiplexes: Initial technical assessment
- A new framework for local TV in the UK
