ITV has extended its contract with Narrowstep for the broadband services that power ITV Local through to April 16, 2006.

Following its launch in October, ITV Local has rolled out to cover all three Meridian TV regions.

"This is the first time in 50 years that an ITV region has provided news and feature programming 24 hours a day to the entire region," said ITV Meridian managing director Lindsay Charlton. "We're also giving our viewers the opportunity to create their own programming and we think there is an enormous appetite for this service. Friends and family can catch up with their own region wherever they are in the world thanks to the Internet and broadband technology."

As the trial moves into the next phase, users will be able to upload video material from their PCs.

"By empowering consumers to upload their own video adverts or home videos, ITV Local is not only developing new revenue streams through classified advertising, but also building loyal audiences who for the first time in TV history can directly influence and control what they watch on TV," said Narrowstep CEO Iolo Jones.