March 13, 2013

From Aberdeen to York: Ofcom seeks expressions of interest for 30 more local TV stations around the UK

Ofcom has asked for expressions of interest to launch a further 30 local TV stations around the UK.

The first phase of local TV bidding is now now complete – with 19 new city-based TV stations set to launch. The first ones could be on air by the end of this year, provided the roadcasting infrastructure is in place.

Local TV stations benefit from being gifted the spectrum to appear on Freeview Channel 8 (in England and Wales). There is also £40m of state subsidy taken from the BBC licence fee comprising £25m to pay for transmitters and £5m a year over the first three years (2014-2016) to pay for programming.

Ofcom has identified 28 new locations for local TV and has readvertised Swansea and Plymouth, which were in the first round but had no applications.

The closing date for expressions of interest in the new channels is 24 April 2013 and according to Ofcom the first successsful bidders could be on air by the end of 2014.

All the first 19 local TV channels have outlined strong news and journalism elements in their proposed programming schedules.

Expressions of interest are being sought by Ofcom for local TV bids in following locations (more details from Ofcom here):