Local TV

And the trouble is there’s no explanation for the viewer as to why a channel they’d expect to be carrying hyper-local content is broadcasting a news programme about somewhere at the other end of the country.

I’ve heard a couple of colleagues mention that they switched on Leeds TV and they were showing news for Cardiff which they thought was either ridiculous or a technical error. It doesn’t really benefit the channel’s credibility.

How much longer can this local TV farce go on for before it's put out of its misery?

It's all a far cry from when Made TV were innovating local tv content.

Presumably for as long as OfCom licences / CoMux contracts persist.

What should happen?

There's a case for a holistic investigation into localism/regionalism across all British media, perhaps a Royal Commission. Without wishing to pre-empt such a thing, perhaps tax concessions for local media (zero-rating local sales etc..) could be offset by means of taxing offshore consumer digital (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix etc...).

Otherwise, well local press will go the way of local radio.

Local television was a worthy experiment, but only that. It didn't work, probably because the model was wrong. So, yes a need for re-appraisal.

Local TV has been given approval for a national spine.

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/09/ofcom-approves-local-tv-national-spine.html?m=1

I'm overwhelmed with ambivalence

I'm sure you can get a cream for that.

Feels like ITV all over again



I expect it won't be long before they ask Ofcom to reduce their local programming even further, as well as further merging of services, until there's hardly any local content left, and it won't be "local" tv anymore.

Sooo ITV without the money? Hmm.

To be replaced by...?

Networked content.

The Sky feed of these channels (with different content) is probably where these services are going to ultimately go.