Most viewers not aware of Local TV – but willing to watch
Three quarters of British TV viewers are not aware that a local channel could be launching in their region this year, with a further 15% claiming to have heard of ‘local TV’ but do not know where it will broadcast.
The findings come from a new YouGov study published on behalf of BroadStream Solutions, and go on to reveal that half of Brits said they would be interested in watching programming relevant to their city or town.
Five Local TV channels have launched since licences were awarded last year, along with £40 million in funding from a Government-imposed subsidy from the BBC licence fee.
The most high profile is the Evgeny Lebedev-backed London Live, which launched in April. However, low viewing figures and the departure of the station’s editorial director just three weeks after the launch have troubled the project.
According to the official TV ratings monitor, BARB, the station has seen viewing figures as low as just 300 viewers on some evenings for its flagship London Go evening programme. However, on its launch night, the channel saw an audience peak of 59,000.
The research also found that when asked whether they would watch a local TV service, half of Brits (50%) said they would be interested in watching programming relevant to their city or town, suggesting the channels have a PR and marketing battle on their hands to attract viewers.
The West Midlands leads the way with 63% of participants saying they would be very or fairly likely to watch a Local TV channel, followed by the North East (58%), with Londoners being the least interested, at just 44%.
Other findings reveal that 70% of Brits are most interested in watching local news programmes, followed by over half of viewers (52%) interested in watching documentaries about their local areas and almost a third (30%) watching their local sports team.
According to the figures, the biggest focus for the new TV channels should be generating relevant and interesting content, with 64% of people saying that uninteresting programmes is the most likely thing to put them off watching their local TV service.
Other viewer turn-offs that broadcasters should take note of are poor production quality (62%) and too many adverts (56%) being shown during programmes.
“There are certainly challenges ahead for the new breed of local TV channels launching this year, from creating the right content to finding the right way to generate income,” said Mark Errington, CEO, BroadStream Solutions.
“One approach was highlighted by the launch of London Live earlier this year, by working in conjunction with their other media companies, such as newspapers.
“This enables the fledgling channel access to journalists and editorial resources from the newspaper to support news and current affairs programming, not to mention the opportunity to tap into existing communities through cross-platform advertising and promotions.
“Local TV is in the midst of a five year programme to see if it can succeed where regional TV failed, but the key to success will be ensuring they strike the right balance between revenues and views.”
