That's Manchester

That's Manchester
Launched 31 May 2015
Owned by That's TV
Picture format 576i (16:9 SDTV)
Audience share Local TV Macro Network:[Note 1]
0.01% (September 2015 (2015-09), BARB)
Country United Kingdom
Broadcast area Greater Manchester
Sister channel(s) That's Basingstoke
That's Cambridge
That's Lancashire
That's Oxfordshire
That's Salisbury
That's Solent
That's Surrey
That's Thames Valley
Website That's Manchester
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview Channel 7

That's Manchester is a local television station serving Greater Manchester. It is owned and operated by That's TV and broadcasts on Freeview channel 7 from studios at The Flint Glass Works in the Ancoats suburb of Manchester.

Overview

Before the launch of That's Manchester, Channel M had broadcast a locally focused television service for Greater Manchester from February 2000 until April 2012, when the service was deemed unviable to continue by its owners.[1]

In 2013, as part of a national roll-out of local television in the United Kingdom, the broadcast regulator Ofcom awarded the licence to Your TV Manchester, but the channel failed to launch within the two year time frame as stipulated by Ofcom.[2] The company, which also won a licence to service the Preston and Blackpool areas, had beaten four other bids - Made in Manchester, Manchester News Channel, MCR TV and Metro8 Manchester.

That's TV subsequently took over the licence, and in May 2015, Ofcom granted That's Manchester a ten-and-a-half year licence to provide a local television service.[3] A soft launch of the channel took place at 9pm on Sunday 31 May 2015.[4]

In March 2016, the station was placed on notice by Ofcom over persistent technical issues in its programming, along with its sister stations, That's Oxfordshire and That's Solent.[5]

The station broadcasts to its licence area from the Winter Hill transmitter via a directional localised signal beam on Freeview channel 7, but is not available on satellite or cable.

Programming

That's Manchester's schedule consists largely of studio-based talk programming alongside local news bulletins. The station's main news programme, Manchester Headline News, airs at 6pm on weekdays. Other programming includes current affairs programmes Now We're Talking, Advice Show and The Big Debate, offbeat news show Student Speak, arts and culture show That's Chatty, and specialist shows such as That's Pride and The Geek Show.

Since 2 January 2017 That's Manchester has carried Talking Pictures TV during the day.

Nowadays, the channel only airs news non-stop apart from when broadcasting Talking Pictures TV.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Audience data for Local TV channels across England, Wales & N. Ireland are measured and reported together, as "Local TV Macro Network".
  1. ↑ Plunkett, John (16 April 2012). "Manchester's Channel M closes after 12 years". guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian News and Media.
  2. ↑ "What's happened to Manchester's proposed TV service? | a516digital". a516digital.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  3. ↑ "Ofcom grants Manchester local TV licence | a516digital". a516digital.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  4. ↑ "Placeholder for Manchester local TV appears on Freeview | a516digital". a516digital.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  5. ↑ OFCOM Broadcast Bulletin - issue 301
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