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Culture Secretary visits region to discuss plans for local TV stations

The Secretary of State for Culture, the Olympics Media and Sport was in the region yesterday to discuss the new proposals for local television services.

The event, which featured a panel debate between Jeremy Hunt MP and several eminent figures from the world of broadcasting and OFCOM, gave an insight into how the new plans will work.

The government hopes to license the first local TV stations by 2012, with 10-20 services in operation by 2015. While this would provide a positive boost for regional news, difficulties still lie in the geographical and financial implications of such a venture.

However, Mr Hunt was keen to emphasize the social benefits a project like this could have: “People are passionate about what happens around them, and local television could be socially useful. It could also be good for local businesses, as it could provide them with a platform to grow their local advertising market.”

Mr Hunt also stressed that the government had created a “commercially viable” project, and the projected costs were not dissimilar to that of a local newspaper.

However, some attendees at the event did voice concerns that the project would not be representative enough of the region they cover. Others suggested that the project, like others before it, could fail due to lack of advertising revenue or lack of viewers.

Commenting on the plans to part fund the projects using money from the License fee, one attendee said: “Its got to be about what local audiences want, and while this money will help new local television stations, it could potentially kill its independence too.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .