LOCAL TV proposals for Edinburgh and Glasgow have been submitted by STV – in collaboration with two of the cities’ universities.
Edinburgh Napier University and Glasgow Caledonian University have each teamed up with the Glasgow commercial broadcaster to submit the proposals, in response to an invitation from broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, to create 21 local television licences throughout the UK.
Says a STV statement about the proposed Edinburgh TV and Glasgow TV: “The new channels would benefit from STV’s facilities and extensive experience as a digital broadcaster offering locally focused services. The partnerships will also provide media students with the opportunity to train in a live environment and provide new employment opportunities in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“TV’s applications for GTV and ETV propose peak time content, including extensive locally relevant news and current affairs programming together with a wide range of tailored magazine shows. Local community and volunteer groups would also benefit from opportunities to highlight their work within the new channels and local businesses would be offered accessible advertising opportunities to reach a highly targeted audience.”
The statement quotes Bobby Hain, director of channels at STV, as saying: “GTV and ETV are well placed to offer innovative and viable local TV options for Glasgow and Edinburgh. We’re delighted to be working with our leading university partners to offer informative content that focuses on relevant, community news.
“Engaging with local communities is at the heart of GTV and ETV and our proposals will deliver brand new services that will meet the needs of these two culturally distinct cities.”
It also quotes GCU Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Pamela Gillies, who would sit on the board of GTV, as saying: “I am delighted that we are forming a partnership with STV as it submits an application to deliver GTV. We are ideally positioned to engage in this partnership, offering strengths such as our undergraduate and postgraduate Multimedia Journalism degrees, which have already produced graduates who have secured employment with STV.
“We have always placed great emphasis on employability and the launch of GTV would give our talented and committed graduates even more of a head start.
“I am also excited by the commitment of the new channel to work with the local community and this echoes GCU’s commitment to sharing its knowledge, resources and skills with the public, and to learning from the expertise of the different communities with which the university engages.”
The statement further quotes Edinburgh Napier University’s Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Dame Joan Stringer, as saying: “This bid represents a tremendous opportunity for our students as well as the wider community in Edinburgh. We are fortunate to already enjoy a strong relationship with STV and, as an institution with a long history of producing first class broadcast journalists, we are very pleased to now be a partner in the Edinburgh TV bid.”
