Local TV News (UK) Thread

Now there are quite a few Local TV services with catch-up facilities online, I've captured a few screenshots. Its quite interesting to see the approach taken outside of London Live. I realise this list isn't exhaustive so feel free to add to it. I didn't bother with STV because they wanted me to sign up to their player and I didn't have the inclination.

For me Mustard & Notts have the best produced bulletins. They actually feel like 'proper news' and Notts have a decent enough real set. Mustard's virtual set is far superior to Big Centre TV. BCTV would be better just with a flat backdrop of the city as the set & desk looks awful. Anyway, here's the ones I captured so far:

Made TV (Leeds, Tyne & Wear, Bristol & Cardiff)

Tyne & Wear, Bristol & Cardiff have the same theme music & similar title sequences with cut outs of local landmarks. Randomly, Leeds do entirely their own thing.

Cardiff (Hello Cardiff)




Bristol (The 6)




Tyne & Wear (Bulletin)




Leeds (On the Aire) (I didn't put these in squashy vision, they were like that in the player)




Estuary TV




Mustard






Notts TV




I was going to capture Big Centre TV but they didn't bother with their earlier bulletin, so I haven't.

The bulletin on Made in Tyne & Wear looks like it's from a nursery than a newsroom!

Notts TV best by far.

I'm unlucky to pick up Made in Leeds in York and the news director/presenter is always wearing that style of suit which along with his hair style, doesn't say news to me.

Anyone any captures from Bay TV in Liverpool?

It was someone sat in front of a picture of Liverpool last I saw. Is a cap around sometime showing it literally taped to the wall.

I do think the Made in Cardiff etc. look is somewhat inappropriate for news - there is a story on the website which uses a cap from the titles similar to above alongside a story of a child being killed and they just don't seem appropriate together.

Brighton's Latest TV

Made Bristol and Leeds looks like a Eurovision country result voting link

Yes, when I viewed Made in Leeds's news programme the on their player I immediately thought of Israeli Dale Winton.

This proves what a good decision Mustard made commissioning some virtual sets rather than using the off the shelf stuff.

I thought the Mustard set was off the shelf too - I'm sure someone posted a link a while ago.


So Mustard only airs 6-11pm Mon-Fri by the looks of it, with news at 6pm, 7pm, 9pm and 10.30pm. Are all the later editions just repeats of the 6pm bulletin?

I do think most days you can get away with that but if you've a local sports team playing in the evening you'd expect some kind of build up on the early bulletins and at least the result on the later ones. It doesn't mean the whole bulletin has to be live, but they do need the ability to update it IMO.

I rather like Cardiff's, it's not trying to be something it's not. Most of the others (I'm looking at you in particular Mustard) look like they're trying too hard to look serious.

I think London Live have got the look right. CSO just doesn't work at a local level.

Well to be fair, it works very well for Mustard's Sport programming and The Mustard Show. Not overly sold on their news.

This is the link : http://www.mikeafford.com/tv-graphics/projects/tricaster-virtual-studios.html