Channel 6 bids for UK local TV ‘spine’
February 2, 2011
Channel 6, the company run by former Trinity Mirror chief executive Richard Horwood, will bid to run the proposed new national TV network that will form the spine for culture secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plan to deliver local news services. Horwood has been one of the few voices offering unqualified support for Hunt’s local TV plans.
Channel 6 said it planned a network of about nine local affiliates will launch off the back of the national network shown on Freeview as well as on cable and satellite.
Horwood said that the plan, which has been “fully costed by industry experts”, will see the network of local TV stations reach 39 by 2017. He said that Channel 6 believed that it is possible to deliver services to areas that have more than 200,000 homes with levels of local programming of “maybe two hours a day in the largest cities down to around 15 minutes in less populated areas”.