London Live, the first television channel dedicated to the UK’s capital, launched last night with an audience peak of 59,000.
London Go, which aired between 6.30pm and 7pm, was the channel’s highest draw on the opening night.
The Evgeny Lebedev-backed channel is the third of 19 local broadcasting channels which have been kick-started by a Government-imposed subsidy from the BBC licence fee of £40 million. It will air 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in a bid to rival broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Sky.
Compared to the national channels in the same time slot, London Live’s opening viewing figures understandably look small. It reached 244,000 Londoners, beating first day launch figures in London of Dave, Watch ITV3, BBC4 and 5USA – and with cross promotion through partner newspapers, The London Evening Standard and The Independent, the channel has the potential to punch above its weight for a city channel.
By comparison, ITV’s Emmerdale at 7pm brought in 6.2 million viewers, followed by the first episode of Coronation Street at 7:30pm with 7.8 million viewers.
Commenting on the London launch, Lebedev said the channel has been created with the intention of being “completely different” from all other channels.
“And the way we are different, is unlike taking well-known names and celebrities and just putting them on the channel, we’ve tried to create a launchpad for new talent,” he said.
Shows confirmed so far will include London’s first dedicated TV football show – fan-led and guaranteeing airtime to all 14 league clubs every week – alongside “unashamedly ultra-local stories” that will attempt to help shape London’s neighbourhoods.
Local TV will be available on Freeview 8, Sky 117, Virgin 159 and YouView 8.
