Hunt outlines plans for community TV in unused spectrum

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is proposing a raft of new community TV services across the country that will be part-funded by the BBC and which would be available on Freeview.

The idea is to usefully populate some of the 'white space' (unused bandwidth) around the 8MHz range with local broadcast services using a technology platform from a proposed body called MuxCo as part of its plan to license the first local TV stations from summer 2012, with 10-20 such services in operation by 2015.

MuxCo would get £25m upfront from the Beeb to get it going and would then have £15m of guaranteed income content-wise from the broadcaster, which would commit to buying that much content. Any new TV players would have to cover their running costs.

Firms would be selected on other criteria than how much they bid for a licence via a process to be managed by Ofcom, according to the Minister, Jeremy Hunt, who added that such new TV services offered "great scope to contribute to growth in our creative industries, develop local journalism and help bring communities together around a shared voice".

Critics have already pointed out that the 8MHz band is only realistically open to about half the UK population, but DCMS says eventually full coverage would be possible via a some sort of future IP-based solution.

The Department's proposals say that 90% of the British population consume local news content of some sort, suggesting a viable marketplace is out there.

But be warned... any such TV will probably be allowed to pump way more than the 12 minutes per hour currently permitted on regular commercial TV.