Solent TV abandons Sky launch plans

Funding issues have forced Solent TV to abandon indefinitely its plans to launch on Sky next month.

The broadcaster, based in the Isle of Wight, had hoped to be the first local channel to play to a national audience.

“We are extremely sad to have to make this decision, but the deadlines were extremely tight and by last Friday it became clear that these could not be met as contracts were still being negotiated," explained John Stevenson, chairman of Solent TV. "It is devastating at this late stage to see our plans come to this - but to embark on such a large-scale project without everything in place would have necessitated the premature shutdown of our terrestrial and web based services– a decision we felt was not in the best long-term interests of Solent ."

Solent now plans to invest the funds it would have spent on a Sky launch in improving said terrestrial and web services.