Our "local" TV station

 Bay TV was set up in 2013 with the best of intentions to fulfil Conservative culture minister Jeremy Hunt's stated aim of 

providing truly local content that is more relevant to local people and leading the way for a multitude of local TV stations across the UK. My vision for local TV is one which contributes to future economic growth and social wellbeing in the UK. Local TV will be a driver of growth in the media and creative industries; helping to increase local employment and skills and boosting local businesses. It will also have a vital role in contributing to local democracy. With Royal Assent being given to the Localism Bill last month and the planned referenda on new locally elected Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners, local TV will have an important role in holding local politicians to account through coverage of local news and current affairs. 

It has to be admitted that the technical and presentation standards of the new station were not as polished as the established national broadcasters. However, these would surely have improved with time - time that the new station was not given. Deaths of key personnel seemed to drain the energy of the enterprise, whose model became financially unsustainable. Bay TV was wound up and the licence sold. The licence is now held, along with 15 other services, by a private company, That's TV.

On Wednesday last, it was announced that "after a period of consultation", 

Local television services across the country will remain on air until 2034, under new proposals set out by the Government. All 34 of the UK’s local TV stations will have their licenses renewed, subject to a review of individual future plans.

Plans set out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will allow media regulator Ofcom to review each station’s plans to continue meeting the needs of local audiences.

The current licenses are currently due to expire in 2025.

Launched in 2013, local TV services are accessible to 15 million people and are required to show a number of hours of local programming each day.

“While recognising the challenges they have faced, particularly during the pandemic, the Government believes that local TV services continue to play a role in the wider broadcasting ecosystem,” the DCMS said.

“Many services, such as Notts TV in Nottingham and KMTV in Kent, also boost local journalism through training programmes provided in production, news reporting and technical roles, which enable students to gain hands-on experience.”

Minister John Whittingdale said: “Local TV stations from Belfast to Birmingham help to support local journalism, drive the creative economy and foster pride in communities.

“We want to see this continue, so we’ve set out plans for Ofcom to review all services to ensure they’re well positioned to continue serving local audiences with trusted and distinctive content for years to come.”

The DCMS statement is disingenuous. Notts TV and KMTV are the exception, rather than the rule. Only a handful of truly local services remain, as this wikipedia article shows. That's TV owns nearly half the licences, streaming repeats of past TV programmes to its satellite stations from its Manchester HQ. Nine of the other licences are held by Local TV Ltd. 

Minister Whittingdale, a long-time opponent of non-commercial broadcasting, has refused to admit that Local TV has, apart from a half-dozen of localities, been a failure. It is to be hoped that an incoming DCMS minister after the next election sticks to the original timetable and revokes the licences of TV stations which are local in name only.