Ofcom today is proposing 20 specific sites for consultation that should constitute the minimum rollout requirement for the local television multiplex licence that Ofcom will advertise, if proposed legislation is passed by Parliament, and Edinburgh is on the list.
These are selected from the sites where local TV is technically possible and we consider there is a potential local service operator, and selected to achieve a range of locations across the UK, and a range of scales of operation. We also take into account evidence of strong local demand.
The 20 sites are: Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton and Swansea.
Ofcom said today:-“Each of these towns or cities is the principal conurbation within the technically-possible coverage area. Some transmission areas cover secondary conurbations too, and where coverage is good enough, we will consider applications for local services targeted at these.
In addition, we propose to ask applicants for the multiplex licence how many sites they will cover, on top of this minimum. We propose to award the multiplex licence partly based on the extent of this additional coverage. Additional sites should be in areas where there is an interested local service operator. Currently we believe that these sites are: Aberdeen, Ayr, Bangor, Barnstable, Basingstoke, Bedford, Cambridge, Carlisle, Derry/Londonderry, Dundee, Guildford, Hereford, Inverness, Kidderminster, Limavady, Luton, Maidstone, Malvern, Mold, Salisbury, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Stratford upon Avon and York.”
Further detail about the proposals will be set out in an Ofcom consultation on their approach to Local TV licensing later this month; it will be published shortly after Orders are laid before Parliament.
