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Local TV areas to be merged says Ofcom

Four areas which had been earmarked for potential Local TV services are to be merged into two, media regulator Ofcom has announced.

Gloucester, Malvern, Luton and Bedford has originally been advertised as separate licences for the next stage of the Local TV rollout which will see ultra-local TV stations set up in about 60 towns and cities.

Now Ofcom has decided to merge both the Gloucester and Malvern areas and the Luton and Bedford areas.

It says the mergers will make both licences more commercially viable and hence more attractive to potential applicants.

Ofcom announced a consultation on the proposed mergers on 12 August.

In a statement published today, the watchdog said it had received five responses, two of which were from potential applicants for the licences in support of the merger plan.

The University of Bedfordshire argued Luton and Bedford should be merged because the towns shared “cultural similarities” and that a larger coverage area would make the licence more viable

The Triple Broadcasting Co wrote in support of merging Gloucester and Malvern, arguing there areas “significant cultural similarities and institutional links” between the two areas and that the serbice would be “creatively and editorially improved by covering a single area.”

Comux UK which is installing the infrastructure for Local Tv across the UK, also responded saying neither merger proposal would reduce costs as all four areas would still require a separate transmitter.

Announcing its decision, Ofcom said: “Ofcom considers that the two sets of locations share sufficient cultural similarities. Ofcom believes that merging the areas will make the licences more attractive to potential applicants, and the licensed services more likely to be viable.”