Bay TV Wins Liverpool TV Licence

Local TV company Bay TV has clinched the city’s hyperlocal TV licence. The company, which already broadcasts programmes from its online channel, beat off competition from Phil Redmond, and Frank McKenna. Bay’s bid was chaired by former Liverpool Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Jack Stopforth.

The channel will begin broadcasting at the end of the year.

“We’re the only city in the UK not to have its own TV channel, so our team of highly skilled video journalists cover Liverpool life, to make up for the reduction in local programming by ITV and BBC, and we’re the only TV station to give live coverage of the Mayoral debate,” they say.

“We see the local franchise as a great opportunity to cover local stories in depth, 24 hours a day, for stories just in the Liverpool city region. They’ll be as wide ranging as they already are on our website,” Chairman Jack Stopforth says, adding that they’ll cover art, business, communities and enterprise. “This iis the fulfilment of a dream we’ve been nurturing for a decade.”

The other bidders were YourTV Liverpool, Made Television, Metro8Liverpool and Phil Redmond’s Our-TV consortium.

“Of the programming propositions put forward by Bay TV Liverpool, Made in Liverpool, and YourTV Liverpool, the Broadcast Licensing Committee (BLC) considered that Bay TV Liverpool’s was the strongest,” said Ofcom, on announcing their decision. “The BLC considered that Bay TV Liverpool’s application demonstrated the greatest understanding of the needs of the local area and put forward programming proposals which would address those needs to the greatest extent.”

We wish them well.

Bay TV