UTV moves for ITV Wales news pilot

UTV, the ITV licence holder in Northern Ireland, has submitted a bid to take on the forthcoming ITV regional news pilot in Wales.

The broadcaster has joined forces with newspaper publisher NWN Media to apply for the Welsh trial of the government's Independently Funded News Consortium (IFNC) scheme.

However, ITN and Welsh production firm Tinopolis are also thought to be in the running for the pilot, which comes with around £7 million in funding.

Bids are also currently being taken for parallel IFNC trials in Scotland and the Borders and Tyne Tees region. Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw will announce successful parties for the three pilots in spring 2010.

Along with taking on a Channel 3 regional news slot, IFNCs will also be expected to provide a range of local news services to generate a viable and sustainable alternative to the BBC's output.

On top of its 50 years experience providing TV services in Northern Ireland, UTV also holds existing radio assets in the Welsh city of Swansea. The firm has already established a dedicated website, titled Waleslive.tv, so that the public can state what they want from the pilot.

UTV and NWN Media claim that their partnership would "create a dynamic cross-platform news force for Wales, delivering content for television, radio, newspaper and online services branded as Wales Live".

Speaking to the Press Gazette, NWN Media managing director David Faulkner said: "Our daily and weekly print titles already have a reputation for excellent grass roots content and a genuine local relevance in the towns and villages they serve.

"We believe in a modern multi-platform journalism that can keep those communities informed but also one that reflects the character and tradition of those communities. This partnership will reflect this ethos while at the same time offering content of unrivalled depth and range across all media."

The three IFNC pilots will get underway in April 2010 and run until a planned national rollout for the scheme in 2013.