London Live is to cut its staff by a third, which will see approximately 20 people lose their jobs, according to a report in the Guardian.
The channel’s chief operating officer, Tim Kirkman, told the Guardian: “As the business develops, we are able to assess where our resources are best deployed to drive continued growth into the business.
“We are restructuring the news and current affairs team with the proposed loss of a number of roles.”
Since launching in spring 2014, the Evgeny Lebedev-backed channel has struggled to pull in viewers – and in October, after an initial refusal, was granted its request to reduce its broadcasting hours by Ofcom.
The move was lambasted by Channel 4, which told Ofcom that public service broadcaster status should not be given lightly, and that by significantly reducing public service obligations so soon after they were agreed, ESTV would set an “unwelcome precedent.”
On 30 March 2014, when London Live first aired, its audience peaked at 59,000 viewers. By the summer, the channel was flat-lining on a 0.2-0.3% audience share, according to BARB figures; however, London Live claims that in December 2014 its shows were watched by more than 2.3 million adults – double the number since June.
Beyond London, in an effort to boost the fledgling sector’s growth and revenue, local TV stations across the UK – except London and Norwich – are joining forces to create a national network ad break that will air once an hour.
