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London Live - The clue's in the name
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There's a big fire in Camden tonight, in one of its big and famous markets. It's been going for several hours, with six fire engines at the scene so far and police cordoning off the area.
No surprise therefore that London Live haven't mentioned it once, and are instead showing old Channel 4 repeats.
I'm sure someone will get around to mentioning it at some point tomorrow when the story's become the BBC's chip paper, ITN and Channel 4's reporters have already gone home after reporting live from the scene and hundreds of calls to phone-in radio shows have been aired. So what's the point of this station?
I'm sure most people would complain if BBC1 spent too much time reporting such a local story, so isn't this exactly what London Live is for - especially when something like this could be a big scoop for a new shoe string channel needing to make a name for itself? Unless it's permanently financially propped up by someone with money they desperately need to throw away, I can't see it being around for long.
Similar to BBC3, perhaps it will end up as just a website containing glorified blogs along with lots of embedded YouTube clips they've filmed on their iPhones.
No surprise therefore that London Live haven't mentioned it once, and are instead showing old Channel 4 repeats.
I'm sure someone will get around to mentioning it at some point tomorrow when the story's become the BBC's chip paper, ITN and Channel 4's reporters have already gone home after reporting live from the scene and hundreds of calls to phone-in radio shows have been aired. So what's the point of this station?
I'm sure most people would complain if BBC1 spent too much time reporting such a local story, so isn't this exactly what London Live is for - especially when something like this could be a big scoop for a new shoe string channel needing to make a name for itself? Unless it's permanently financially propped up by someone with money they desperately need to throw away, I can't see it being around for long.
Similar to BBC3, perhaps it will end up as just a website containing glorified blogs along with lots of embedded YouTube clips they've filmed on their iPhones.
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Their schedule is clearly locked no matter what happens. Aliens could land in High Street Ken, just outside their offices but they`d still stay with repeats of Peep Show `cos they need the ad money!
Yes I agree, by and large London Live has been something of a disappointment, that's not to say it has been all bad. Vanessa Bafoe on Wake Up London is a delight and hopefully she will get a bigger role soon, Marc Edwards has good charisma and bags of enthusiasm and energy.
Unfortunately it seems that they are sticking to their guns with the format, despite it being obvious to all that it needs to change and needs to change now, if the station has any chance of survival. Sadly it seems that their Chief Exec is already resigned to the fact that linear wise it will fail and has gone into defensive mode, instead of acknowledging and taking the criticism on board, much of it constructive and useful.
Can I have some of what you`re smoking please?!?!?!
She is appalling in a role that requires her to be about two thirds of the entire breakfast show output, such is the paucity of actual content in this ongoing shambles of a programme. She looks about 3 feet tall next to that aesthetically dull and dreary screen/laptop combo, has bizarre pronunciation and her entire job seems to be stretching for the tabs at the top of the screen and rote-reading out whatever woefully inadequate line or two lines of info comes up.
Considering WUL consists mainly of traffic/weather updates over anything else you`d think they`d take the time and trouble to at least make that segment look and sound pleasant but it`s a ****ing mess on all levels.
Harsh man!
There is no sign of any change to London Live's regular schedules on Thursday or Friday.
Or even Thatcher's funeral, storms/floods, 7/7 or public transport strikes?
Maybe someone should do a sweepstake for which episode of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace they'll be showing as the winner crosses the line during next year's London Marathon?
Assuming they're still on air by then. Sadly, I think even Good Morning Britain and Susanna Reid's contract will outlive it.
Well they haven't got the rights to show the Marathon for a start.
There's quite a lot wrong with London Live. It should cover news and particularly live, breaking news a lot better than it does. It should have a late bulletin and time will tell how well it will cover major events as they unfold.
But
Londoners deserve better, should want it to do well and wake up the mainstream, ITV London in particular. Charlene White handed over to Martin Stew for the pre-recorded weather on the latter last night and the poor fella had uttered six words before she had to interrupt and bring the bulletin to a close. On LL's launch night seven weeks ago, ITV London gave us ten minutes in its main bulletin on potholes.
Wake up London is the beginnings of a breath of fresh air and tries original ideas (e.g. City in sixty). It is the best of the day's news offerings.
Soho Blues last night was no worse than any other hour-with-the-emergency-services-filler on a mainsteam channel.
Funny Rotten Scoundrels and Food Junkies especially are good, original programmes. I missed Misfits first time round and am extremely glad I haven't missed an episode since LL launched. Providing London's Burning in daytime is a master stroke.
The Platform Eight strand on a Sunday offers some well produced and well executed documentaries, each followed up with an interesting hour-long debate.
I think that, while not perfect, LL has much to commend it and I conclude this case for the defence.
This is the dross that airs between 6 and 9 weekdays? That is "the best of the day's news offerings" is it? God help them......
Every day I flick over to WUL and am always surprised it`s still on-air, it`s that bad especially when that pen-twiddling **** in the v-neck is fronting it. He clings onto his biro more tenaciously than Linus does his blanket.
Funny Rotten Scoundrels is very good though. I`ll give them that much.
London Live Sole Viewer Revealed
1 SOHO BLUES (THU 2203) 33
2 SMACK THE PONY (TUE 2131) 32
3 DRAG QUEENS OF LONDON (THU 2301) 29
4 SPACED (FRI 2400) 28
5 SPOOKS: CODE 9 (SUN 2201) 25
6 SPACED (THU 2400) 24
7 MISFITS (FRI 2200) 24
8 SMACK THE PONY (TUE 2101) 20
9 DRAG QUEENS OF LONDON (TUE 2203) 19
10 SMACK THE PONY (WED 2132) 14
So there's 9.1 million that could be watching this channel according to this article:
http://www.standard.co.uk/londonlive/london-live-a-whole-new-ball-game-for-tv-in-the-capital-9165931.html
Which means it's top show (33,000 viewers- Soho Blues- Thursday 22:00) took
0.36% of available audience.
Alibi+1s top rated show this week was Castle at 66,000. This channel is available to around 14million pay tv subscribers.
This was the same night as London Live just an hour later, it penetrated 0.47% of it's audience.
What I'm saying here is that London Live is doing worse than a +1 repeat of a repeat.
........
And if London can't make it work, what hope is there for some of the other, much less populated and less metropolitan areas?
And to think that the Government got the BBC to fund some of it with LF money.
Everyone knew it was going to fail, except seemingly the government. They can't be that stupid, perhaps it was a strategic move to get the BBC to commit to more local content or some other end?
A variant of Hanlon's Razor:
"Don't ascribe to clever conspiracy what can be explained by stupidity"
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jul/25/london-live-ofcom-slash-local-programming?
It's not surprising. Local TV has been tried in various forms and has never been a success. There are still many more local channels to launch over the coming months. I wonder how many will still be on air in 2 years time?
Mr Hunt meanwhile continues to bury his head in the sand:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jul/25/london-live-ofcom-slash-local-programming
What he hasn't realised is that the American system is massively different. The local channels are all linked to a bigger network like ABC or CBS, rather than trying to provide a 24/7 local service.