Pioneer TV Channels Announced

Twenty cities are to be switched on to new TV channels soon as they have been chosen by the Government for a new station.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday revealed the 20 towns and cities across the UK, which are expected to be the first to have their own local TV stations.
The first 'pioneer areas' are expected to be: Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Southampton and Swansea.
These areas were all identified as having good local spectrum coverage and significant levels of interest from potential operators and audiences.
The broadcast regulator, Ofcom will now consult on these areas and its proposed licensing process.
"I am confident these new stations will provide local communities with programming which is relevant to their daily lives, will support local democracy, boost the big society and enhance local communities," said Mr Hunt.
A further 24 areas identified for a future round of licensing are both Londonderry and Limavady in NI as well as Aberdeen, Ayr, Bangor, Barnstaple, Basingstoke, Bedford, Cambridge, Carlisle, Dundee, Guildford, Hereford, Inverness, Kidderminster, Luton, Maidstone, Malvern, Mold, Salisbury, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Stratford upon Avon and York.
The Government is also taking a number of steps to create a new statutory framework for licensing that will allow for transmission infrastructure to be built and the new local TV services to start operating.
Spectrum - the broadcast waveband - will be awarded through a competitive process to a single multiplex operator to provide the distribution for local TV. The necessary enabling legislation will be laid shortly.
They overall aim to create a series of commercially viable stations carrying locally made programmes and news across the UK.
The first new stations could be broadcasting in 2013, following the awarding of licences during summer 2012.
As part of the licence fee settlement in October 2010, the BBC agreed to provide funding of up to £25m for local television services and an additional £15m to acquire local television content.
The final determination on the BBC's contribution will be subject to approval from the BBC Trust.
(BMcC)