Made TV, the company which won four local TV licences earlier this year, has reached agreement with Bauer Radio for Radio Aire and Metro Radio to provide localised news, weather and traffic information services to Made’s two Northern TV franchises.
Made TV’s station manager in Leeds, Isi Abebe, told Prolific North that the recently agreed deal covers both Made in Leeds and Made in Tyne and Wear.
Made’s two other franchises in Bristol and Cardiff are not involved in the agreement.
Abebe added that he and his colleagues are also in various stages of discussions with other potential third party providers of services to the TV stations.
He also revealed that Made was planning two 30 minute news bulletins at 7pm and 9pm Monday through to Friday with a 30 minute magazine programme at 6.30 each week day.
Isi Abebe
Abebe added that: “We very much see ourselves as a digital company providing a news and information service to our communities, creating and distributing engaging, relevant, local content across all platforms – TV, online, mobile.
“In the face of declining newspaper sales and regional news output and an increasing democratic deficit we feel this is the right and only approach in building a new model for local media.”
Being positioned at number eight on Freeview and 117 on the Sky Platform is the added bonus he teases.
Made’s approach is in contrast with that being proposed by Your TV Manchester, Your TV Preston and Bay TV Liverpool, who see themselves more as broadcasting companies first.
As reported earlier on Prolific North, Made TV, whose corporate base is currently in London, will be moving its HQ to Leeds this Autumn to the Leeds Media & Broadcasting Studios in Chapeltown.
There will be around 50 staff employed at the Leeds office.
Roughly half will be working in a central services capacity for Made overseeing HR, compliance, legal and other functions across the four stations with around 25 staff directly employed by Made in Leeds.
Abebe said that the launch was still anticipated to be February or March of next year.
Made in Leeds potential viewing audience is just over 3m and the company believes it will reach around one third of that audience every month.
