Local TV licensing: Phase 2
Ofcom is now inviting Expressions of Interest for companies interested in running a local TV channel in the following locations:
Aberdeen
Ayr
Bangor
Barnstaple
Basingstoke
Bedford
Bromsgrove
Cambridge
Carlisle
Derry/Londonderry
Dundee
Guildford
Hereford
Inverness
Kidderminster
Limavady
Luton
Maidstone
Malvern
Middlesbrough
Mold
Plymouth
Reading
Salisbury
Scarborough
Stoke on Trent
Stratford upon Avon
Swansea
Tonbridge
York
Full details: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/tv-broadcast-licences/local/phase2/
Aberdeen
Ayr
Bangor
Barnstaple
Basingstoke
Bedford
Bromsgrove
Cambridge
Carlisle
Derry/Londonderry
Dundee
Guildford
Hereford
Inverness
Kidderminster
Limavady
Luton
Maidstone
Malvern
Middlesbrough
Mold
Plymouth
Reading
Salisbury
Scarborough
Stoke on Trent
Stratford upon Avon
Swansea
Tonbridge
York
Full details: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/tv-broadcast-licences/local/phase2/
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Comments
They are doing it as one lot, I mean why wait, the Government needs the money after all
With no guaranteed space available if the 700MHz band is cleared, they might not want to have a lot of local tv channels with licences extending very far into the clearance period.
But surely, what might be viable in one local area might not be so in another, especially as these areas don't seem to have been chosen with any local demand, viability or markets in mind.
And as they were seemingly the brainchild of one Mr Jeremy (H)unt, it is also possible that most will be an abject failure anyway.
The UK, and the UK TV market, are not likely to be comparable to those which exist in other countries.
That applies to my town - ignored due to those coverage issues, whilst a neighbouring town gets one (even though it is debatable whether the area covered reaches the same number of people).
This is one reason why I am sceptical as to its viability.
They've been chosen due to:
a) availability of spectrum and
b) somebody having expressed an interest to either the DCMS consultation or the later Ofcom consultation (for the former, both companies interested in running a service, and individuals)
There were further areas on the original list that have been left out as there was no demand for such a service from any company or individual.
Sounds too limited to me.
it will be a total waste of time here, what the hell are they going to talk about or show and also who is going to pay for it?
It will fail simple as that before it even starts, who the hell want to watch Tv about this boring city anyway, it will just be more propaganda for the council.
I would argue that beyond reading the local paper, and providing local council information, not much. Ok so come time for local elections, it may come into its own, but quite where all the good local talent is going to come from for this, is anybody's guess.
Best case, this ends up looking like the TV version of BBC local radio, or it ends up in the hands of local university's, with students eager to prove themselves.
There certainly isnt anything local commercial radio can bring to the mix, meanwhile local papers may worry about competition for advertising, this assuming that your local chip shop, really wants to run a TV ad, much cheaper (in terms of ad production costs) to place an ad in the local paper.
The other option of course, is the US model, where local people can buy air time, for themselves.
Whatever can or can not be provided in terms of content, I am far from convinced that TV is the way to go, online seems the best bet, and that will only be a sort of local YouTube, largely piggy backing off the local newspaper website,
Looking at my local paper, I might like to do a follow up video about this article, and have it air on my local TV station, but really people wont tune in for it, it needs to be online, where people will see it. People wont watch my interview the people behind this on TV, but those with an interest may well share it around the web.
meanwhile, just look at the quality of that article, its dreadful, I found much more interesting and worthwhile information on Twitter and the companys website.
Another joy of online, is the comments section, and on the localised level, it may well be possible for those comments to have genuine input into future productions. This is much harder with TV, but if you offer people a local TV channel to serve them, alot will expect it to be alot more responsive to comments than regional TV news currently is.
In terms of content, you could end up inviting the leader of the local weight watchers group on, or maybe giving some air time to something like the Greeniveristy
http://www.greeniversity.org.uk/search/classes/keyword::Peterborough
where local people teach skills to other local people.
Its almost needs to be the extra thing, to add to something that a local service is already running, rather than the usual top down service.
The idea is flawed.
Probably not far from the truth.
I assume that's Bangor North Wales and not Bangor Northern Ireland ?
It will be from Llandonna, so yes, Wales.
I honestly can't think how we could fill broadcasting hours with general local information to be honest so lets see how the stations are used.