Ex-C4 chairman bids for local TV network

Former Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson has joined forces with broadcasting industry veteran Paul Jackson to bid for culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's new national TV channel for delivering local services.

Jackson and Johnson are part of Local6, a group founded by William Burdett-Coutts, which aims to roll out local stations across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Norwich, Bristol, Belfast, Cambridge, Southampton, Reading, Cardiff and Swansea. The group plans to broadcast the London content from its Riverside Studios base and is forecasting start-up costs of between £30m and £40m.

Local6 proposes airing up to six hours of local programming every day on Hunt's so-called 'Channel 6' network, including arts, entertainment, news and weather.

Johnson stepped down as Channel 4 chairman at the end of 2009, while Jackson is a former head of entertainment and comedy programming at the BBC and ITV. Local6 is also backed by Sandy Ross, the former managing director of Scottish Television.

The deadline for submissions from parties interested in taking on the Channel 6 project expired yesterday, with nine bidders known to have put forward proposals.

Confirmed bidders include Element TV and a Scottish consortium, along with former ITV News editor Nigel Dacre and Welsh independent production company Tinopolis. Also in the running are Richard Horwood's Channel 6 group and the Local Television Network, led by Greg Dyke.

They are joined by TripleSee, an IPTV joint venture led by former BBC executive Simon Walker and bringing together the founders of Maidthorn Partners, production company Twofour, and media consultancy New Media Partners.

TripleSee wants to ditch the idea of a national schedule with local opt-outs on Channel 6, in favour of an "unabashedly national service that celebrates localism".

Dubbed LocalVision, the proposed channel would provide a "shop window" for the wide range of local services already provided over IPTV and other platforms.

Walker explained: "TripleSee believes that championing the idea of localism is as important to the success of the Local Media Action Plan as launching individual local TV services.

"Britain has a long tradition of community-driven, grassroots movements linked to specific local areas but understood and respected across the nations and regions. It is our ambition to reflect the diversity of local communities all across the UK."

He added: "In an update of the BBC's grand mission for the World Service, TripleSee envisages a UK where 'locality shall speak peace unto locality'."