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STV wins licences to launch local TV stations in Edinburgh and Glasgow

By Dominic Ponsford

ITV licence holder for Scotland STV has won the licence to launch local TV stations in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

GTV and ETV are the latest of 21 local TV licences to be awarded by Ofcom. The new channels will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of STV group.

ETV will be run in partnership with Edingburgh Napier University.

ETV said in its application that its priority is to establish itself as a new, distinctive and credible viewing choice for Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Live Tonight will be broadcast at peak-time, and from midday each day the channel will be on air with "an innovative community based, rolling text & video service".

GTV will be also be owned by STV and will be run in partship with Glasgow Caledonian University.

It said in its application: "GTV will bring a different kind of television to audiences in Glasgow. It will be live, local and will broadcast every night from the heart of the city. With its unique partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University (“GCU”) it will significantly increase the range of programming available in the area, bringing new choice for viewers, inclusive media access for communities, training opportunities for students and employment opportunities within digital media.

"News and current affairs represents by far the biggest single genre of GTV’s output – over a third of our total initial output- and we will, in addition, schedule a wide range of locally focussed reports, analysis and debate. To a large extent, the success of GTV depends on it quickly establishing itself as a credible, reliable and impartial source of news and current affairs."

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