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Are you local? (July 2013)

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CO
Colorman
Thanks for the update didn’t realise the coverage area was so restricted and with around 30% of it being in Essex who presumably have no interest in the channel no wonder viewing figures are so low. It would make more sense to concentrate that 30% within the Kent area to maximise viewing potential.
LL
London Lite Founding member
To adequately cover Dartford and Gravesham, a relay would be required on the Essex side of the Estuary as is the case with the Kent DAB multiplex. Wrotham was also added for Kent DAB presumably to cover Sevenoaks.

Sadly there's more chance of receiving London Live in NW Kent than KMTV.
ST
stuartfanning
To adequately cover Dartford and Gravesham, a relay would be required on the Essex side of the Estuary as is the case with the Kent DAB multiplex. Wrotham was also added for Kent DAB presumably to cover Sevenoaks.

Sadly there's more chance of receiving London Live in NW Kent than KMTV.
London Live is received by suburbia outside Greater London in all the counties that surround London, so Dartford should be receiving LL.
LL
London Lite Founding member
To adequately cover Dartford and Gravesham, a relay would be required on the Essex side of the Estuary as is the case with the Kent DAB multiplex. Wrotham was also added for Kent DAB presumably to cover Sevenoaks.

Sadly there's more chance of receiving London Live in NW Kent than KMTV.
London Live is received by suburbia outside Greater London in all the counties that surround London, so Dartford should be receiving LL.


Yet they editorially cover the 32 London Boroughs, not NW Kent.
CO
Colorman
If this anomaly is typical of all the local TV areas then it of little wonder that they are not considered a success. Since Dartford has no administrative ties with London I have never checked to see if it available and would not watch in any case. I would expect any important decisions made by the mayor for London that may affect me would feature on the national news thus making London live in this respect redundant. It seems quite ironic that a relay in Essex would be need to provide coverage in Kent. Although KMTV seems to be one of the more success stories, providing it doesn’t change to That’s KMTV it could be that much more of success if it was providing maximum coverage in Kent rather than Essex who understandably will contribute nothing to the viewing figures.
LL
London Lite Founding member
If this anomaly is typical of all the local TV areas then it of little wonder that they are not considered a success. Since Dartford has no administrative ties with London I have never checked to see if it available and would not watch in any case. I would expect any important decisions made by the mayor for London that may affect me would feature on the national news thus making London live in this respect redundant. It seems quite ironic that a relay in Essex would be need to provide coverage in Kent. Although KMTV seems to be one of the more success stories, providing it doesn’t change to That’s KMTV it could be that much more of success if it was providing maximum coverage in Kent rather than Essex who understandably will contribute nothing to the viewing figures.


Dartford was never allocated a local tv channel. KMTV is a merger of two licences which were originally targeting Maidstone and the other Tonbridge. Yet the news programme is a countywide bulletin of which only a tiny part of the county can receive.

As the other transmitter for KMTV is Tunbridge Wells, the channel should be received in parts of NE Sussex, almost certainly Wadhurst, yet Bluebell Hill as shown by the coverage map doesn't penetrate NW Kent with most viewers in Dartford pointing aerials towards Crystal Palace, while nearby Gravesend has a Crystal Palace relay. (Until 2012, BBC1 was from Bluebell Hill with ITV from CP.)
DV
dvboy
Is KMTV on Sky?
LL
London Lite Founding member
dvboy posted:
Is KMTV on Sky?


No and I doubt they would invest in going on the platform either.
ST
steveboswell
Although London Live is the only local channel you can pick up in Dartford, the town's local paper is a KM title. Most towns/areas in the county have one.

They've taken the (admirable) decision to cover the whole of Kent in their TV news because they hope people will watch it online, and it gives them content to put on their local sites.

As "edge cases" go, Dartford has always fallen between the London/Kent gap in terms of TV and radio coverage and editorial areas. Whenever the football club has been featured on South East Today, for example, most fans miss it because they're all tuned to BBC London.
CO
Colorman
Yes the Kent Messenger Dartford is the only local paid for paper, such is their commitment they do produce a specific Dartford addition. It has also won many awards. Although KMTV is on line I think most people either don’t know it available or cannot be bothered to look at an on line station, despite heavy coverage of the the station in the paper. You are correct Dartford has always been in no mans land as far as local news coverage is concerned. There has been many occasions where South East Today has a live news broadcast in Dartford and on the odd occasion in my road but since the BBC insists London should be the main provider the majority of affected or interested viewers are completely unaware it is being broadcast. Not that I watch BBC London news often but have never seen Dartford mentioned. Really the BBC should allocate 101 to the SE version with London up in the 900’s, but can never see that happening.
LL
London Lite Founding member
Really the BBC should allocate 101 to the SE version with London up in the 900’s, but can never see that happening.


I was of the understanding that 101 is allocated to DA postcodes within Kent on both Sky and Freesat to BBC One South East?

Incidentally the KM Group (Iliffe Media) only has a half share in the KMTV business. It's the University of Kent who have the other share and run the news operation.
CO
Colorman
I am in DA1 and BBC London is on 101, the DA postcode covers a large area, from Shorne near Rochester up to the edge of Abbey Wood in SE London, and includes villages in between Dartford and Gravesend up to West Kingsdown. Although I cannot be sure I think London covers the Dartford borough area and SE covers the Gravesend and Village areas.

Thanks for the info regarding the half share arrangement with the University of Kent, was nor aware of that aspect.

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