Television
 | This article needs to be updated.(May 2009) |
RSLs were also issued to television stations and other organisations which wished to cover a very small area. These licences (also known as Restricted Television Service Licences or RTS licences) restrict power, and hence range, but not operating hours. These licences are valid for four years, and must be competed for on renewal.
The first local TV station to go on the air in the UK with an analogue RSL licence was TV12 on the Isle of Wight. It commenced broadcasting in October 1998 from the main ITV/BBC transmitter at Rowridge. TV12's studios were initially at the Medina Centre in Newport – later moving to retail premises in the town centre and finally a factory unit on the outskirts of the town. Initially a staff of more than 25 made hundreds of hours of local programmes – most of which were filmed on location in and around the island.
Later local TV licences were awarded for stations in Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Carlisle, Coleraine, Derry, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fawley, Glasgow, Hertford, Lanarkshire, Leicester, Limavady, Manchester, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Taunton, Teesside, Ware, Wellington, and York.
In light of the national switch-over from analogue to digital TV the television regulator, Ofcom, extended several analogue Local TV licences until local digital switchover became due in each respective area. This process was complete in October 2012. Meanwhile, in February 2009 bids were invited for auctions for the first local digital multiplex licences to be offered in the UK – the first two of which were awarded shortly thereafter. However the awarding of additional licences was halted in favour of a network of local broadcasters. [3]
Channels licensed under RTSs
- C9TV – Coleraine, [4] Derry, [5] Limavady [6] – ceased broadcasting in 2008
- MATV – Leicester [7] – ceased broadcasting on analogue terrestrial television in 2009
- NvTv – Belfast [8] – ceased broadcasting on 23 October 2012, granted a local digital TV licence [9]
- Six TV Oxford – Oxford [10] – ceased broadcasting in April 2009
- Six TV Portsmouth – Portsmouth [11] – never launched
- Six TV Reading – Reading [12] – never launched
- Six TV Southampton – Fawley, [13] Southampton [14] – ceased broadcasting in April 2009
- TV Norwich – Norwich [15]
Note that not all of these services may currently be broadcasting. Some of these stations also broadcast on other platforms such as cable and satellite.
Former channels licensed under RTSs
- TV Local Bristol – Bristol – ceased broadcasting in 2002
- Capital TV – Cardiff [16] – ceased broadcasting in 2009
- Carlisle TV – Carlisle [17] – trialled but never launched
- Channel M – Manchester [18] – ceased broadcasting on analogue terrestrial television on 2 December 2009, granted a local digital multiplex licence
- Channel Six Dundee – Dundee – ceased broadcasting in 2002
- Edinburgh Television – Edinburgh – ceased broadcasting in 2003
- Herts TV – Hertford and Ware – ceased broadcasting in 2002
- Lanarkshire TV – Lanarkshire [19] – ceased broadcasting in 2001
- Northants TV – Northampton – ceased broadcasting in 2004
- Portsmouth TV – Portsmouth – ceased broadcasting on 19 March 2004
- Solent TV – Isle of Wight [20] – ceased broadcasting on 24 May 2007
- Southampton TV – Southampton – ceased broadcasting on 19 March 2004
- Taunton TV – Taunton and Wellington [21] – ceased broadcasting in 2002
- Teesside – Teesside [22] – never launched
- Thistle TV – Lanarkshire – ceased broadcasting on 17 May 2005
- TV12 – Isle of Wight – ceased broadcasting in 2002
