Local TV News Thread

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  • GreeboGreebo Posts: 1,418
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    Radiomike wrote: »
    London Live has once again secured permission to reduce its local offering:- http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/apr/13/london-livereduce-new-peak-time-local-shows-evgeny-lebedev

    The Ofcom update announcement read as follows:
    Ofcom has agreed to requests from five local TV services for variations in their programming commitments.

    The requests are for Big Centre TV in Birmingham, London Live, That’s Manchester, That’s Oxford and That’s Solent, and relate to the hours or scheduling of local programming.

    Ofcom has decided to agree to the requests, which it considers will not substantially alter the overall character of these services.

    Full details of the change requests are available here.

    Interesting to see only London Live being reported by The Guardian.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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    That's Solent in trouble with Ofcom again.
    But at least some good news, they have a viewer, Ofcom are watching them, according to the article.
    Local TV channel That's Solent has been found in breach of Ofcom broadcasting rules yet again after it broadcast a news report that came across as an advert.

    During Ofcom's routine monitoring of the output of the channel, which serves parts of the Southampton and Portsmouth area on Freeview channel 7, it noted an item in a news bulletin about a taxi company called Cab My Ride, which had developed a booking application for mobile devices in partnership with the University of Southampton.

    The nearly five minute item showed repeated footage of taxis with branding for the company, including its telephone number. At various points, information about where the app could be downloaded was also visible, as well as slogans giving details of the service provided. A one-sided interview with the taxi company's customer experience rep provided a further plug for the service.

    Despite That's Solent defending the report, describing the reporter on the item as “an experienced journalist familiar with Ofcom guidelines and maintaining that there was “clear editorial justification” for “report[ing] on an innovative app developed over an extended period” like Cab My Ride, Ofcom ruled that the local channel had breached rules over the promotion of products, services and trade marks and undue prominence.

    Last month, Ofcom found That's Solent guilty of breaching rules after showing a graphic murder scene featuring a woman being stabbed 17 times at 7:20pm. It also criticised the poor technical quality of output on the channel.

    http://www.a516digital.com/2016/04/solent-local-channel-breaches-ofcom.html
  • JemimahJemimah Posts: 15
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    Highbury College Portsmouth students report that they have learned little from That's Solent which is a pity as if you are a digital media student that's what you are there for and have been promised. Programmes are now often broadcast from Manchester.. Yes Manchester .... Now Daniel Cass has permission from Ofcom to transmit less local hours while still picking up lorry loads of our licence payers' cash from the BBC. As Brucie would say " Good game" ! And no one appears to be monitoring this rubbish.
    Meanwhile the only half decent topical local chat programme with a highly regarded professional local presenter has been dumped. But let's not embarrass Jeremy Hunt whose idea local tv was or Ofcom whatever we do! Perhaps they will do better now they will be in charge of the Big BBC.
  • anthony davidanthony david Posts: 14,461
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    I seem to remember that people on this forum said that the only reason people didn't watch local TV was its high channel number and that "everyone surfed up and down the channels". Well now it is is on channel 7 or 8, using up a space that could be used for something more popular, still no one watches it.

    Local TV was the brain child of Jeremy Hunt, If you have been to A&E recently you will find he is as good at the NHS as he was as Media minister. Waiting time at South Manchester University Hospital (Wythenshawe) From arrival to being admitted for someone I was accompanying was 10 hours, most people were there for 8. As for as I could see everyone was overworked and harassed but still friendly amazingly.
  • RadiomikeRadiomike Posts: 7,927
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    I see from TV Forum and a516 digital that That's Manchester was off air from 12 to 14 June without any apparent explanation for the problem that caused it. It would seem that this is not the first time this has happened.

    Also still no sign of the new stations for Surrey, Reading and Salisbury from That's TV that were due to launch by 2 June, or the stations for York, Scarborough, Teesside, Swansea and Mold which were all scheduled to launch by January of this year but were granted extensions to June/July. That's Hampshire and KMTV in Maidstone are also slated to launch by 7 July - any sign of either of them materialising?

    With the Made channels increasingly broadcasting shared programming and old Sherlock Holmes movies, and the STV city channels increasingly simulcasts of each other, not to mention London Live's ever reducing "local" content, does anyone see any prospect of any of the channels mentioned launching? As for the existing ones it can surely only be a matter of time before some of them cease. Ofcom seems to have largely lost interest.
  • chrisychrisy Posts: 9,418
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    Radiomike wrote: »
    Also still no sign of the new stations for Surrey, Reading and Salisbury from That's TV that were due to launch by 2 June, or the stations for York, Scarborough, Teesside, Swansea and Mold which were all scheduled to launch by January of this year but were granted extensions to June/July. That's Hampshire and KMTV in Maidstone are also slated to launch by 7 July - any sign of either of them materialising?

    Since Clare and Ed left Comux/Canis the amount of information coming from Comux has been minimal. In fact, I'm not even sure if any of the local muxes that had a launch date - which we've now passed - in 2016 have been powered up.
  • RadiomikeRadiomike Posts: 7,927
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    After That's Manchester, now That's Solent has apparently gone off air without much explanation. Another nail....

    http://www.a516digital.com/2016/07/another-local-tv-channel-falls-off-air.html
  • Old BlueOld Blue Posts: 111
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    That's Solent is still on air.

    The picture quality is terrible and the sound is out of sync - but it is definitely still broadcasting...
  • GreeboGreebo Posts: 1,418
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    From 11:15pm last night the audio on Kix and True Crime has been reduced from 192kbps to 128kbps. Audio for That's Manchester is still at 192kbps.

    Looking at the London data at http://en.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?liste=1&live=9&lang=en&mux=LOCAL it looks like they may be making space for an extra channel to be squeezed in?
  • kevkev Posts: 21,071
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    Greebo wrote: »
    From 11:15pm last night the audio on Kix and True Crime has been reduced from 192kbps to 128kbps. Audio for That's Manchester is still at 192kbps.

    Looking at the London data at http://en.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?liste=1&live=9&lang=en&mux=LOCAL it looks like they may be making space for an extra channel to be squeezed in?

    Please Noooooo! Notts TV is like watching Duplo blocks nowadays - used to be okay :(
  • chrisychrisy Posts: 9,418
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    Greebo wrote: »
    From 11:15pm last night the audio on Kix and True Crime has been reduced from 192kbps to 128kbps. Audio for That's Manchester is still at 192kbps.

    Looking at the London data at http://en.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?liste=1&live=9&lang=en&mux=LOCAL it looks like they may be making space for an extra channel to be squeezed in?

    Interesting, looks like they are now statmuxing the national channels together so - as you say - there is now space for another.

    @kev
    This won't affect Notts TV, the local channel has a static allocation which hasn't changed. Might be a signal issue, or could be something wrong in the broadcast chain - it's probably worth reporting it to them, especially if it used to look OK.
  • RadiomikeRadiomike Posts: 7,927
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    I see London Live is at it again:-

    http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/london-live-programming-commitments/?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=london-live-programming-commitments

    Having previously reduced its original commitment to 8 hours of local news and current affairs per day down to 5.5 hours, it now wants to reduce it further to 3.5 hours (and only 1 hour per day on weekends). They claim in their application "we believe that our request for a licence variation does not substantially alter the character of our service or amount to an unacceptable reduction in the number or range of programmes made in or about London and its locality"

    They claim the current commitment (let alone the commitment which won them the licence) is clearly unsustainable. They compare their position to ITV and Channel Four.
  • SexbombSexbomb Posts: 20,005
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    That's Lancashire seems to be spending more time off air than on just lately.
  • djscrivodjscrivo Posts: 422
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    I travel about for work quite a bit spending nights in hotels so I get to see the difference of local tv output.

    Personally I think Big Centre TV does the best job out of the lot, content seems well put together.

    Made in Bristol was unwatchable!! and "that's Manchester"... well if that is Manchester then I'm off :o:D AWFUL!
  • chrisychrisy Posts: 9,418
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    As it hasn't been mentioned yet - STV are rebranding their Edinburgh and Glasgow channels as STV2 next year.
  • orudgeorudge Posts: 59
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    More information and analysis here. So will there actually be any local programming (from Aberdeen in my case) when "STV2" launches? Yet more news from Glasgow surely can't count as "local"!

    It sounds like it may just be the nightly programme that'll come from Glasgow though, with local hourly updates?
  • chrisychrisy Posts: 9,418
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    orudge wrote: »
    It sounds like it may just be the nightly programme that'll come from Glasgow though, with local hourly updates?

    That's the impression I got. I'm sure they will be able to argue to some extent, that a news programme focused on Scotland across the network of channels counts towards their local quota. If they mix it with other programmes made in the cities where these channels are based, they can probably largely get away with the same schedule across the board, it might just be a bit more locally relevant on certain days or at certain times.
  • Crapital FartCrapital Fart Posts: 401
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    djscrivo wrote: »
    I travel about for work quite a bit spending nights in hotels so I get to see the difference of local tv output.

    Personally I think Big Centre TV does the best job out of the lot, content seems well put together.

    Made in Bristol was unwatchable!! and "that's Manchester"... well if that is Manchester then I'm off :o:D AWFUL!

    Last night it was reported that Big Centre has been taken over by Made In. The channel will rebrand to Made In Birmingham on 1st November but will still be based in Walsall initially. It will also be added to Sky and will cover news from Stoke and Coventry in addition to Birmingham and the Black Country.

    http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/creative/big-centre-tv-acquired-tv-11973072
  • jimbojimbo Posts: 16,234
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    Radiomike wrote: »
    I see from TV Forum and a516 digital that That's Manchester was off air from 12 to 14 June without any apparent explanation for the problem that caused it. It would seem that this is not the first time this has happened.

    Also still no sign of the new stations for Surrey, Reading and Salisbury from That's TV that were due to launch by 2 June, or the stations for York, Scarborough, Teesside, Swansea and Mold which were all scheduled to launch by January of this year but were granted extensions to June/July. That's Hampshire and KMTV in Maidstone are also slated to launch by 7 July - any sign of either of them materialising?

    With the Made channels increasingly broadcasting shared programming and old Sherlock Holmes movies, and the STV city channels increasingly simulcasts of each other, not to mention London Live's ever reducing "local" content, does anyone see any prospect of any of the channels mentioned launching? As for the existing ones it can surely only be a matter of time before some of them cease. Ofcom seems to have largely lost interest.

    You mention Mold in the above - when I was last in North Wales near Rhyl, I got a weak signal from channel 56 Moel Y Parc.

    All the main channels were recived at 41% in the hotel, but channel 56 only had 14% - not enough to lock onto the channel table. This was back in August - so I am not sure what if anything is actually on channel 56 Moel Y Parc - but maybe the local channel in Mold is nearing launching? Can anyone confirm?
  • GreeboGreebo Posts: 1,418
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    Greebo wrote: »
    From 11:15pm last night the audio on Kix and True Crime has been reduced from 192kbps to 128kbps. Audio for That's Manchester is still at 192kbps.

    Looking at the London data at http://en.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?liste=1&live=9&lang=en&mux=LOCAL it looks like they may be making space for an extra channel to be squeezed in?

    So that's now confirmed, they were indeed making space for another channel - True Christmas has appeared today on LCN 74.
  • pinballmadpinballmad Posts: 195
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    Greebo wrote: »
    So that's now confirmed, they were indeed making space for another channel - True Christmas has appeared today on LCN 74.

    True Christmas on 74 took the space that community channel since moving to com8 HD
    on website it still true movie 1
  • Denco1Denco1 Posts: 3,229
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    pinballmad wrote: »
    True Christmas on 74 took the space that community channel since moving to com8 HD
    on website it still true movie 1
    True Christmas is on the Local Mux?
    The jewellery channel took the space of the community channel?
  • SonOfPurpleSonOfPurple Posts: 2,637
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    The Community/Jewellery moves were to add Hochanda to SDN. There's no connection between this and the move of True Movies/Christmas, which has moved from GMAN to Comux using space created by Sony/CSC trimming the bitrate of their other channels on the local mux.
  • chrisychrisy Posts: 9,418
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    using space created by Sony/CSC trimming the bitrate of their other channels on the local mux.

    "Trimming the bitrate" Is a bit of a misnomer. The extra channel has been added by switching from constant to variable bitrate using statmuxing. This is a lot more efficient as the total bandwidth is shared, and any visible impact should be minimal.
  • Westy2Westy2 Posts: 14,357
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    Is it me or has the local Tv signal been gradually reducing over the last few months?

    (Admittedly I'm on an indoor setup!)

    I've had it as high as 8 but it's now around 3, even with buying another aerial with better signal booster!
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