DA
They will receive government funding though, won't they?
Just makes me think what will become of Jeremy Hunt's local TV channels. I have no doubt it will be the same way as Channel M.
They will receive government funding though, won't they?
:-(
A former member
Mr hunt needs to take a good look at Ch6 idea and release it's a waste of money, When even itv claims there would be happy to give up a few slots for stuff then maybe you re-think the ideas.
NW
It's only been in on DTT on LCN 200 in the Manchester area for the last couple of years, last I checked the signal was weakened and even then it was only showing filler programming like Real Radio with Highway Agency cameras and whatever Salford University had to offer. I think the death knell for the channel was when GMG sold off MEN Media to Trinity Mirror, with nothing to back the channel onto. I think if GMG had a profitable TV business elsewhere then the channel would have survived but as they have no other TV interests and the channel was on a shoestring budget for two years then it was pretty much when it would close rather than if.
Slag off Mr Hunt and the Tories all you like, but at one point Channel M/Local TV did work for a while, round 2007 or so when they invested a lot of money into News programming and local content. They had a good EPG slot on Sky and Virgin which was very well promoted, especially within MEN's papers, so people were aware of the service, they often showed a lot of local advertising and sponsorship. If they had this in place with a Freeview slot then I think it would have been even stronger. Lots of their presenters and journalists have turned up on the BBC and ITV in the area, so it wasn't all bad.
Plus don't forget the Frank Sidebotton testcard.
Slag off Mr Hunt and the Tories all you like, but at one point Channel M/Local TV did work for a while, round 2007 or so when they invested a lot of money into News programming and local content. They had a good EPG slot on Sky and Virgin which was very well promoted, especially within MEN's papers, so people were aware of the service, they often showed a lot of local advertising and sponsorship. If they had this in place with a Freeview slot then I think it would have been even stronger. Lots of their presenters and journalists have turned up on the BBC and ITV in the area, so it wasn't all bad.
Plus don't forget the Frank Sidebotton testcard.
SW
One of the issues with Channel M (even pre-Trinity sale) may just be that it was the wrong city to try it in. The staple of Channel M for a few years appeared to be its news content and whilst stating the obvious, Manchester is in the ITV Granada region and one of the very few regions to still have its name identity. Also up until last year they had a veteran local presenter on both BBC and ITV. It may only be a small thing but brand loyalty goes a long way. Both the BBC and ITV local news services in the region are very Manchester-focused and have good resources behind them, so for any North West city to try such a scheme maybe Liverpool would have been better.
GO
It was moved to channel 75 literally in the last few days so it's a shame they couldn't have waited a little longer to see if that had any effect on their ratings but given that its schedule for the last few weeks has consisted of nothing but simulcasts of Real Radio, the Community Channel and Euronews it really was on its last legs.
Funnily enough I was writing about Channel M in my essay earlier today when researching the channel 8 plans.
It's only been in on DTT on LCN 200 in the Manchester area for the last couple of years,
Funnily enough I was writing about Channel M in my essay earlier today when researching the channel 8 plans.
BE
Ben
Founding member
Local TV as a traditional concept is never really likely to be successful, because we are so used to regional TV in this country. Also in countries where local, city-wide TV really is a big deal the cities and areas they cover tend to be on a much bigger scale than here.
Really the best bet for a government supported local TV service would be to support the many online services that are already out there - serving large areas and in some cases small villages. They all look cheap and amateurish but with a small amount of government cash and perhaps a unified identity for the service it would probably have half a chance at success.
Really the best bet for a government supported local TV service would be to support the many online services that are already out there - serving large areas and in some cases small villages. They all look cheap and amateurish but with a small amount of government cash and perhaps a unified identity for the service it would probably have half a chance at success.
CI
That's a myth, and it has been totally busted.
In the US, out of the 210 different markets, only 2 are bigger than our London region in terms of population, and most are in fact smaller than Westcountry/South West, which is somewhere between 1.8 million and 2 million.
In Canada, a local station in Hamilton, Ontario, broadcasts local news for 15 hours + every weekday, over half their weekly output is local news programming.
It has nothing to do with scale, and everything to do with attitude.
Local TV as a traditional concept is never really likely to be successful, because we are so used to regional TV in this country. Also in countries where local, city-wide TV really is a big deal the cities and areas they cover tend to be on a much bigger scale than here..
That's a myth, and it has been totally busted.
In the US, out of the 210 different markets, only 2 are bigger than our London region in terms of population, and most are in fact smaller than Westcountry/South West, which is somewhere between 1.8 million and 2 million.
In Canada, a local station in Hamilton, Ontario, broadcasts local news for 15 hours + every weekday, over half their weekly output is local news programming.
It has nothing to do with scale, and everything to do with attitude.