Liverpool’s local TV station seeks investors

BAY TV, the broadcaster which has the local TV licence for Liverpool, is looking for investors.

The company is set to launch its Liverpool service on Freeview’s channel eight in the coming months and has also picked up two additional licences for north and south Wales.

All local stations will recieve £150,000 from the BBC in the first year in return for content, but are expected to operate commercially.

Bay’s founder Chris Johnson, who established the Mercury Press news agency, has hired media sector corporate finance house Mediaventure to oversee the investment round, but has not disclosed the scale of finance he is seeking.

He said: “We want people in Merseyside, the North West and Wales to have the opportunity to share in a company at an early stage with huge potential for growth. I honestly believe this is a golden chance for people who want to get-in on a growth industry on the ground floor, but the window is tight since we need expressions of interest by Monday March 31.”

He added: “Without wishing to sound too mercenary, it has been fundamental for us to make commercial sales the first priority for Bay TV

Liverpool and our sales team have already made great strides in recruiting customers. The results from our first quarter sales campaign have exceeded all forecasts and demonstrate that there is a massive demand from businesses who are eager to tap-into cost-effective TV advertising – many of them for the first time ever.

“This confirmation of our business model has encouraged us to be ambitious in our plans for expanding our operations. Greater investment will enable us to deliver not only the must-watch station that the great city of Liverpool

The company was already running a television channel for Liverpool on Youtube when it won the 12-year right to broadcast to 890,000 homes last year.