A request to Ofcom regarding a change in network schedule has been denied for start-up channel London Live, with the city-specific station left stuck with their original ‘local content commitments’.
After starting in March 2014, the localised EPG-filler for the British capital city had attempted to move away from being tied to ‘local content’ production requirements outlined when winning the EPG slot bid, looking to enable less specific shows to take their place in the schedule during ‘peak times’.
But following a ‘public consultation period’ after request submission, media regulators Ofcom have ruled that such proposals would “substantially alter” the ‘character’ of the London Live project, and have therefore rejected the idea.
An official report from the organisation stated of the London Evening Standard-owned network‘s plans and the reasons they were not to be going forward: “Ofcom decided that London Live’s application to change its programming would have substantially altered the character of the channel – making it much less local. The requested changes to the licence were not approved, as they didn’t meet three of the four statutory criteria needed for Ofcom to give its consent.”
London Live’s chief operating officer (COO) Tim Kirkman responded to the report with disappointment, stating: “I am disappointed by this outcome as I believe the changes would have allowed us to produce an even better product for Londoners. We had no plans to reduce the volume of fresh local content or news and current affairs, just the times we broadcast it. Not being allowed these changes is not critical, but will continue to challenge us. However, the business is continuing to deliver, with nine consecutive weeks of audience growth, and we are now reaching over 10% of Londoners every week, with last week our second-best week so far – only very marginally behind our launch week.”
Though the ruling may prevent them from truly challenging nation-wide channels in the manner they might want to, will keeping London Live Londonised at prime time be a better move for the channel’s own good in the long run?
