Cable Forum - General Local TV

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Quote:

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36095465)

It is possible to do it like that now, but to be honest, it was mind-boggling boring. The presenters droned on and had no media skills and I would be surprised if many watched it.

The only way you can make local TV work is to have national programming with regular scheduled spots for the local stuff, supported by advertising. Unless the content is of interest and the channel is run professionally, no-one will watch it.

Trying to operate these channels in isolation from one another just doesn’t work, I’m afraid.

If only it was like the Cable Access channel in Wayne's World.

Party time! Excellent! :dunce::D

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36095465)

That's how it seems to work in America so I see no reason why it can't work here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rillington (Post 36095593)

That's how it seems to work in America so I see no reason why it can't work here.

Nor do I - it seems that nobody in media in the U.K. seems to have the vision or enthusiasm for the concept.

In the 1990s, there was an attempt to launch a network of local news channels under the banner of Channel One. I think it ran for around four years (1994 to 1998?)

Another excellent local channel, this time on air in the mid to late 2000s, was the excellent Channel M in Manchester. It was a 24/7 local channel with several hours each day devoted to news, including a two-hour rolling news programme at teatime, at teatime plus a weekday breakfast show. The rest of the output was filled by local magazine programmes.

There was an attempt to launch an analogue Terrestrial local channel here some time after(as far as I recall) Channel 5 launched, they got as far as making some short content and broadcasting it on a promo loop for a month or two, but it never properly launched. I was under the impression it was part of a wider enterprise called TV Local given the way I recall it being talked about in the local paper prior to it starting. Ours was to be called TV Local Perth.

When the current DTT Local TV project was started I was surprised the nearest license was only for Dundee as we had this previous attempt, it seemed good business sense to target a slightly wider area. They could've called it Tayside TV. As it is we can actually receive the current incarnation even though we're not in the official intended catchment area.

More cuts to local news on that's TV

Quote:

Further cuts at That’s TV 1 November 2021 Following Ofcom’s green light, 15 out of 20 local TV channels owned by That’s TV will have local news produced from outside their region. Two studios, one in Glasgow and one in Manchester will record links for the entire network, with local studio bases in Cambridge, Salisbury, Swansea and York axed.

https://rxtvinfo.com/2021/further-cuts-at-thats-tv

---------- Post added at 18:03 ---------- Previous post was at 17:39 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheekyangus (Post 36095704)

About 20 years ago I had an channel called Thistle Television and it has an news story from my local area and I seen my late Dad walking by an local shop in a high street when Thistle Television was filming across a road.

And in Greater Manchester we had the excellent Channel M, which effectively closed down in 2009 when it went into a hold situation, and never came out of that hold position.

It's such a shame that local television has never really take off in the UK, especially in highly populated areas like London, Manchester and the West Midlands.