First Local TV Launches In Grimsby

The first local TV channel, Estuary TV, was launched on Tuesday 26 November in Grimsby. A further 18 stations across the UK are preparing to go live before the end of 2014.

We worked to challenging timescales and against adverse weather to successfully deploy transmission and network access and are managing the high power transmission equipment required to enable local TV reception.

Steve Holebrook, Managing Director, Terrestrial Broadcast, commented:

The launch of local TV services is a valuable enhancement to the Freeview platform and helps promote and enhance the DTT platform. Launching additional services highlights the maturity and robustness of the platform in the light of growing competition from other services. We are proud to support Comux to deliver localised content to a large part of the UK population using our network of sites and transmitters.

Comux's business model for sustainable local TV infrastructure is based on local ownership and profit sharing. The multiplex has sufficient capacity to broadcast three channels - one channel will be allocated to local TV licensees and the other two will be sold commercially on a national basis. The profits made by the sale of this capacity will be used to fund the services for local television.

Comux Chief Executive, Ed Hall commented:

To deliver local TV to over 12 million homes we have built one of the most advanced transmission networks in the world with the operations centre based in Birmingham. We believe this model addresses the key challenge that local TV operators have faced in the past - the financial barrier to launching and successfully maintaining a local TV channel. As well as a commercially sustainable and robust solution, we have also now created the potential to provide an attractive return to the licence holders and to the local TV industry as a whole.

The facts behind this network build are truly astounding: from contract to launch has taken just 18 weeks and one day. Over the past five weeks, we have installed over 18km of video cable and more than 6,000 metres of network cable capable of sending 385,000 data packets per second out of the Network Operations Centre in Birmingham.

Press enquiries

Jamila Atta

Tel: +44 (0)789 628 0588

Email: jamila.atta@arqiva.com

Tags

Local TV

Comux

Grimsby

Estuary TV

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