Local Television Limited

Local Television Limited (formerly Made Television) is a local television network in the United Kingdom, operating eight stations serving the Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Mold and Tyne and Wear areas. The stations air localised news, sport and feature output, alongside networked and acquired programming, including daily simulcasts from factual entertainment channel CBS Reality.[1][2][3]

Local Television
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaBristol, Cardiff, Leeds and West Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, Liverpool, Birmingham, West Midlands, Teesside, Flintshire and Denbighshire
HeadquartersLeeds
Ownership
Sister channelsBirmingham TV
Bristol TV
Leeds TV
Liverpool TV
North Wales TV
Teesside TV
Cardiff TV
Tyne & Wear TV
History
LaunchedBristol: 8 October 2014
Cardiff: 15 October 2014
Leeds: 6 November 2014
Tyne and Wear: 12 November 2014
Liverpool: 12 October 2016
Birmingham: 8 November 2016
Teesside: 30 March 2017
North Wales: 26 April 2017
Former namesMade Television
Links
Websitewww.uklocal.tv

Overview

In September 2012, the broadcast regulator OFCOM announced Made Television had been awarded two licences to broadcast local TV services in the Bristol and Cardiff areas.[4][5] Three months later, the company was granted a third licence to serve the Newcastle, Sunderland and Gateshead areas,[6] followed in February 2013 by a licence for the Leeds area.[7]

In November 2013, the company gained a fifth local TV licence to serve the Middlesbrough and Teesside areas.[8]

Made in Bristol was the first of the company's channels to launch at 8pm on Wednesday 8 October 2014, followed a week later by its sister station in Cardiff.[9] Made in Leeds began broadcasting on Thursday 6 November 2014 and Made in Tyne & Wear launched six days later. The stations launched an on-demand service, OnView, in March 2015[10] followed in August by live streaming.

In 2016, the company bought two independently run local TV stations - Bay TV Liverpool, shortly after it went into administration in August, followed by Walsall-based Big Centre TV in October.[11] Bay TV was reopened and relaunched as 'Made in Liverpool' at 6pm on Wednesday 19 October 2016, followed by the relaunch of Big Centre as 'Made in Birmingham' on Tuesday 8 November 2016.[12]

Two further stations launched during the spring of 2017 - Made in Teesside for the Middlesbrough area on Thursday 30 March 2017[13] followed by Made in North Wales for Mold and surrounding areas on Wednesday 26 April 2017.[14]

On Thursday 25 May 2017, all Made channels began carrying acquired programming from the UK & Ireland version of factual entertainment channel TruTV as part of a supply agreement with Sony Pictures Television. The stations simulcast TruTV in two daily blocks from 1-5pm and from 9pm-1am (8pm - midnight on Tuesdays to accommodate America's Got Talent).[15][16] As of November 2017, the Made channels began simulcasting CBS Reality for 11 hours a day.

In November 2017, following a restructuring of the Made network's operations,[17] local programming was cut and studio production of daily news and magazine programmes was centralised at Made's Leeds and Birmingham stations. Around forty staff across the network were reportedly made redundant.

On 2 January 2018, Made Television ceased broadcasting its localised services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool and Tyne & Wear on digital satellite. They were replaced by a single, generic Made Television feed featuring a daily three-hour block of local news programming. Made in Cardiff ceased broadcasting on all platforms and was replaced by the generic network feed.[18]

In January 2021, Local Television Limited began broadcasting a service targeting viewers in Manchester. Unlike the group's other channels, Manchester TV is not the official local-TV service provider; That's Manchester occupies the Comux local multiplex slot and LCN 7, with LTV's Manchester TV occupying a lower berth (LCN 99 at launch) and transmitting on the legacy Greater Manchester multiplex originally set up for the defunct Channel M service. When transmissions began, the channel relayed the network Local TV service as provided on satellite.[19]

Organisation

Local Television Limited's headquarters are at the Leeds Media Centre in the Chapeltown area of Leeds, with studios and offices based at Gas Street Basin in Birmingham, Abbey Wood Business Park in the Filton suburb of Bristol, Elgin House in Cardiff city centre, the Toxteth TV studios in the Toxteth suburb of Liverpool and the David Puttnam Media Centre at the University of Sunderland.[20] Local newsrooms are also located in Middlesbrough and Wrexham. Playout and presentation for the network is run from Made Television's headquarters in Leeds.

On 19 August 2018, Made Television rebranded as Local Television Limited and all sub stations were renamed according to their city.[21] The company's official trading name is still registered as Made Television as of October 2018.[22]

By 2021, Local Television's chairman David Montgomery (a newspaper executive, whose company National World was known for taking over JPIMedia, in a £10m deal which included papers such as The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post)[23] outlined plans for a new 'Northern TV Network' which would include Local TV's channels in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.[24][25]

Programming
  • All Local TV Ltd stations produce a rolling block of pre-recorded local news, sport and features airing each weeknight. Each station's block airs each weekday for up to three or four hours. For example, Bristol Live airs each weekday from 5-9pm while North Wales Live airs from 6-9pm.
  • Cardiff Live, a half-hour block for Cardiff, airs at 5pm on weekdays on the Made Television networked feed. The networked feed also carries a half-hour version of the rolling blocks for Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Tyne and Wear.

In addition, the stations simulcast CBS Reality from 9-11am, 1-5pm and 9pm-2am each day and also air acquired programming from other broadcasters, independent production companies and local TV stations around the UK.

References
    1. Made Television and Trinity Mirror land Middlesbrough local TV licence, theguardian.com, 27 November 2013
    2. "Liverpool's Bay TV set to be bought days after going into administration".
    3. Made Television to launch North Wales service in April, Prolific North, 20 March 2017
    4. Local TV in Bristol: Made in Bristol awarded licence by Ofcom, recombu.com, 19 September 2012
    5. Local TV: Made in Cardiff to be capital's new channel, BBC News, 19 September 2012
    6. Made in Tyne and Wear awarded TV licence, Press Gazette, 6 December 2012
    7. "Ofcom awards Leeds local TV licence". Ofcom. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
    8. Made Television and Trinity Mirror land Middlesbrough local TV licence, theguardian.com, 27 November 2013
    9. First Welsh local TV station prepares for launch Archived 1 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, OFCOM, 15 October 2014
    10. Made Television - about us
    11. "Liverpool's Bay TV set to be bought days after going into administration".
    12. Big Centre TV acquired by rival network 18 months after launch, Birmingham Mail, 4 October 2016
    13. Made TV network continues to expand with launch of new channel for Teesside, Made Television, 8 March 2017
    14. Made TV network continues to expand with launch of Made in North Wales, Made Television, 20 March 2017
    15. Made Television reveals all-new summer line up Archived 1 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Made Television, 25 May 2017
    16. TruTV on Made Archived 1 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Made Television, 25 May 2017
    17. Jobs to be axed at Made in Birmingham TV station, Birmingham Post, 26 October 2017
    18. Made TV splits Sky and Freeview local TV feeds, a516digital.com, 4 January 2018
    19. "Manchester TV launches on Freeview channel 99", RXTV.info, Jan 2021
    20. Made Television, media.info
    21. "Local TV LTD | Always Local, Always Live!". Local TV TV. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
    22. "MADE TELEVISION LTD. - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
    23. Carrell, Severin; Sweney, Mark (31 December 2020). "Owner of Scotsman and Yorkshire Post newspapers bought for £10m". the Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
    24. Sharman, David (2 February 2021). "JPIMedia chairman launches new Manchester TV channel - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
    25. "David Montgomery's local TV network to launch Manchester channel". Prolific North. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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