A press agency boss has added two more franchises to his growing Local TV empire.

Chris Johnson, managing director of Liverpool-based agency Mercury Press, won the right to broadcast Channel 8 services in Liverpool last year.

Now his company Bay TV has added the franchises for both Swansea and Mold, North Wales, to its portfolio.

Media watchdog Ofcom named Bay TV as the winning bidder for both areas in an announcement yesterday.

In Mold, Bay TV Clywd won out over a rival bid from Serch TV.

Ofcom said that while Serch TV had put together a “varied content proposition,” it was concerned that it would not ne able to deliver on it.

By contrast, it said that Bay TV Clywd has made “a sustainable and realistic content proposition based on news and current affairs made within and covering the area of Mold.”

It found that Bay TV Clwyd would be more likely to be able to maintain the proposed service for the duration of the licence based on the business plan provided.

There was also a two-horse race for the Swansea franchise, with Bay TV Swansea winning out over Engage4Life Ltd.

Ofcom said that while Engage4Life had a “potentially sustainable business model,” its assumptions about costs and revenues were “less realistic” than those of Bay TV Swansea.

Earlier this month, Bay TV Gwynedd was named as the winning bidder to provide local TV services in Bangor.

Ministers want to see a network of up to 60 local TV channels with the first group of 19 due to come on stream from later this year.