YourTV wins Manchester licence
YOURTV, has been awarded the 12-year local television licence for Manchester, OFCOM has announced.
The successful Manchester bid was chaired by former PwC senior partner David McKeith and also features former BBC broadcaster Felicity Goodey on its board.
YourTV plans to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is promising a mix of news, culture, entertainment, sport and some user generated material.
The station will be led by Bryan Burgess, who was previously involved with Sky, TVAM and Manchester United TV.
The business was founded by former TV producer Jim Manson and Lin Glover, a former regulator with Ofcom’s predecessor the Independent Broadcasting Association.
Mr Manson told TheBusinessDesk.com last year that the group had attracted funding from unnamed private and institutional investors.
Rivals for the licence were Canadian broadcaster Channel Zero, which bid under the Metro8 name, Made in Manchester – although this is not the radio producer with the same name led by Ashley Byrne, Salford Quays-based Lets Go Global and the Manchester News Channel.
YourTV also has bids for Liverpool and Preston where the winners have not yet been announced. The Liverpool bid is led by founder of the business network Downtown Frank McKenna, and Lynne Wood, a former managing director of Radio City. In Preston the station director will be former Lancashire Evening Post editor Simon Reynolds.
