Former managing director of Trinity Mirror television Richard Harwood is preparing to put forward a plan for a new integrated national and local TV channel.
It could be one solution to the conundrum of what will happen to local TV news after ITV’s current licence commitments run out in 2014.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that Harwood is set to put a plan for local TV to Nicholas Shott, who is leading the Government review into the viability of local TV.
He told the Sunday Telegraph that local entertainment shows like the X-Factor could work well and that he has also been in talks with established local media groups.
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Apparently he already has a team of 12 working on the project.
ITV currently subsidises local TV news to the tune of around £50m a year employing some 500 editorial staff.
The Coalition Government plans a new network of local TV stations funded by £25m initially and then £5m a year.
So far this plan has been met with a huge degree of scepticism from the across the media industry.
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