The Newsroom

London Live

announce News presenters (December 2013)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
TV
TVGBs
The 2nd 15 minutes consisted of another anonymous package (about women in the Met) and two studio interviews which were arts related.


A far cry from the "live from a queue near you" ideal they launched with. And which pops on the epg and other places. Why won't they just let it die? It is just... just... Shocked
MO
Mouseboy33
Grrrr. Whats so infuriating about London Live is that they have the programming. Movies/Comedies/Dramas to complete a great schedule. It doesnt have to be original productions IMO. And it shouldnt and cant be compared with a national network, mind you. And if you look at the dismal schedule of the ThatsTV and Made(Local) stations, its light years better. Its the current affairs part where the huge hole exists. The channel could potentially be amazing, but at this point the owners has just left it to flounder and die.
I could imagine the LondonLive entertainment schedule forming the spine of a semi national network or even just a primetime programming block. (The ThatsTV and MadeIn stations could affiliate to LondonLive for entertainment blocks) Similar to the way the Fox Network and the CW network started. That leaves the local station responsible for certain dayparts and their news programming. But thats all pie in the sky at this point. London Live still has potential, but its gone unfulfilled. I personally have always hated the name, especially since BBC used that name for its London operation a few years ago. But thats just my opinion.
Last edited by Mouseboy33 on 1 March 2019 1:31am
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GL
globaltraffic24
Grrrr. Whats so infuriating about London Live is that they have the programming. Movies/Comedies/Dramas to complete a great schedule. It doesnt have to be original productions IMO. And it shouldnt and cant be compared with a national network, mind you. And if you look at the dismal schedule of the ThatsTV and Made(Local) stations, its light years better. Its the current affairs part where the huge hole exists. The channel could potentially be amazing, but at this point the owners has just left it to flounder and die.
I could imagine the LondonLive entertainment schedule forming the spine of the semi national network. (The ThatsTV and MadeIn stations could affiliate to LondonLive for entertainment blocks) Similar to the way the Fox Network and the CW network started. That leaves the local station responsible for certain dayparts and their news programming. But thats all pie in the sky at this point. London Live still has potential, but its gone unfulfilled. I personally have always hated the name, especially since BBC used that name for its London operation a few years ago. But thats just my opinion.


I feel your pain. London Live’s potential is what makes it all so frustrating. Daytime should basically be a rolling news channel. Agreements should be signed with TFL to get it shown in stations. It should be the go-to place for news and travel. There should be live gigs and OBs galore, and all of this could be backed up with movies and repeats in the evening. It’s literally the easiest channel on the planet to make a success of.
SD
SuperDave
They screwed up from the word go. From chasing the Hipsters to the cringeworthy Not the One Show - the launch team had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

Since then, rather than try and build the channel, Tim Kirkman (who still pulls a £250k salary btw) has spent his time re-arranging the deckchairs and whinging to Ofcom to get the obligations he signed up to, reduced.

As someone else on here points out - the original daily news and current affairs output is now the weekly output.

Pathetic.
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TV
TVGBs
They screwed up from the word go. From chasing the Hipsters to the cringeworthy Not the One Show - the launch team had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

Since then, rather than try and build the channel, Tim Kirkman (who still pulls a £250k salary btw) has spent his time re-arranging the deckchairs and whinging to Ofcom to get the obligations he signed up to, reduced.

As someone else on here points out - the original daily news and current affairs output is now the weekly output.

Pathetic.


£250k is an absolute disgrace. I'd love to earn that for a failing enterprise.
Last edited by TVGBs on 5 March 2019 10:12am
WO
Woodpecker
I'm not from London, so perhaps forgive me for wading in on this, but I have to say, it amazes me that something that could have so good has instead been so badly bungled. You'd think that a city with a higher population than any of Denmark, Finland or New Zealand would be able to sustain its own TV channel.

Indeed, BFM Paris seems to have done well in the two or so years it's been on air. Amsterdam, as well, has had its own TV station, AT5, for nearly thirty years. It is worth noting that it has been in and out of financial trouble a few times; in 2012, the channel was acquired by a consortium consisting of a newspaper, another regional TV station and public broadcaster AVRO. In addition, it is also partially reliant on subsidies from the city of Amsterdam, alongside advertising revenue.

It is worth noting that their news output is perhaps a bit lacking: one 15 minute bulletin a day, which is then repeated on the hour every hour; there used to be more, but lack of finances has put paid to this. They do make quite a bit of other stuff, though, including a local Crimewatch-type programme made in conjunction with the police, a programme about the city's history, and a fortnightly interview with the mayor. There is a large number of repeats (understandable given the channel's shoestring budget), but all of the channel's output is themed around and relevant to the people of Amsterdam. It is also quite an important breeding ground for talent, with a large number of well-known Dutch TV journalists having once worked for AT5.

I mention all of this because I believe that AT5 is a perfect example of how you can do things on a shoestring, yet still remain relevant to a local audience, without having to resort to bought-in films and series repeats. I think many of their programme ideas, especially the ones I mentioned above, are ones which London Live would do well to emulate.
MA
Markymark
I'm not from London, so perhaps forgive me for wading in on this, but I have to say, it amazes me that something that could have so good has instead been so badly bungled. You'd think that a city with a higher population than any of Denmark, Finland or New Zealand would be able to sustain its own TV channel.


Never mind TV, thanks to the same incompetent regulator, there is now only one Londonwide London focused radio station, and that's the half-baked mishmash that is BBC Radio London

13 days later

DV
DVB Cornwall
Broadcast reporting more Job Losses.



JE
Jeffmister
When will London Live (and indeed the local TV concept) be put out of its misery? It's clear that the various local TV stations aren't living up to what the government intended for them to be when they launched the initiative
LL
London Lite Founding member
For those without a Broadcast sub.

Quote:
London Live is to make around a quarter of its workforce redundant as it battles to achieve sustainability.

The capital’s local TV operator is to reduce headcount by a dozen, from the 46 full-time staff it currently employs.

Individuals from across the business will be affected, including editorial, scheduling, sales and marketing functions.

The five year-old business, led by chief operating officer Tim Kirkman, is currently in consultation with staff. It expects the process to conclude by the end of April and is attempting to help those affected find new roles elsewhere across the organisation, which is owned by the Evening Standard.

Its director of programmes Lucy Myers stepped down in December and has not been replaced.

The channel, which occupies slot #8 on the Freeview and Youview EPG and is also available via Sky and Virgin Media, is drawing up plans to reduce the volume of live coverage it offers.

It airs a number of live shows including nightly hour-long news bulletin London Focus, early-morning chatshow Talking Points and entertainment magazine London Go.

London Live will retain its studio space in the Evening Standard’s office in Kensington’s Northcliffe House.

The broadcaster, which is the 19th biggest in London by reach, reported an operating loss of £3m in 2017 with a turnover of £4.2m. Its losses shrunk slightly from the previous year’s deficit of £2.1m.

Its most-watched programme in 2018 was an episode of drama Spooks, which entertained 100,000.

The broadcaster has successfully lobbied Ofcom to reduce the volume of local news it is required to air to 19.5 hours per week.

Kirkman said: “I am very sad to have let top-quality staff go but I need to do what I can to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the business. We continue to explore all options for the future of London Live.”

Options under consideration are understood to include a merger with a rival local TV provider. However regulatory conditions around the volume and scheduling of local content required, make the creation of a nationwide ‘spine’, with regional opt-outs challenging to establish.

In July, Ofcom revealed it did not plan to advertise or re-advertise local TV licences in 13 areas due to the “significant financial challenges that the sector is facing”.
SD
SuperDave
It’s hard to see what more they can cut. The Programme Director and News Editor both left in December and in reality they only produce an hour of ‘news’ programming a day (on weekdays).

In true delusional style they describe Talking Points as an early morning chat show when it’s actually just a comp of interviews hacked from the previous days news.
Last edited by SuperDave on 19 March 2019 9:07pm
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C4
C4girl
I worked for these in the early days and it's a real shame to see where its heading. They are cutting back so severe in news that they'll be unable to produce anything close to what they've done in the past. No wonder Jim Grice decided to leave. I heard the programmes director was pushed with others made redundant last year. They stopped sharing internal news on figures a few years back so they must have been bad. Surely closed or sold off soon.
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