User:Harrymorris/United for local television

United for Local Television (ULTV) describes itself as a "coalition". Formed in December 2007, ULTV is an unbrella group which brings together both commercial and not-for-profit organisations with an interest in the development of local television in the UK. The group campaigns on a platform of "local TV for all" and has developed a proposal (dubbed 'Channel 6') which would enable all viewers of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) to have access to at least one dedicated local TV channel. According to the ULTV website, every major DTT transmitter site in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would form its own 'Channel 6' region showing a mixture of local and network programmes. ULTV works with the Scottish Local TV Federation which has put forward alternative proposals for the development of local TV in Scotland.

Unlike many countries, dedicated local television channels have, to date, not generally taken hold in the UK. The website of the UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) suggests that the move from analogue to digital television transmissions (due to complete in 2012 in the UK) may make capacity available for new services focused on geographic localities. ULTV has been critical of the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, which decided not to reserve access to interleaved frequencies for local television services in a policy statement on the 'Digital Dividend Review' issued in December 2007. However, since then, Ofcom has said that it believes "the potential for DTT capacity to support local television should be kept open for further consideration.”

ULTV claims to have been active in lobbying UK politicians in all major political parties. An early day motion entitled 'Local Public Service Television', sponsored by Ian Stewart MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Community Media, attracted the support of 162 Members of Parliament in the 2007/2008 Parliamentaty Session. Although in no way binding on the government, the motion suggests a substantial number of backbench MPs at Westminster may be attracted to the idea of making spectrum available for the development of new local TV channels.

For the Conservative Party (the largest Opposition party in the House of Commons), the Shadow Culture Secretaty, Jeremy Hunt MP told the London School of Economics on 29 October 2008: “''Ask any visitor to the US what the biggest difference between UK and US television is, and they are likely to say it is the lack of local TV...Does this matter? I believe it does. Indeed I believe that the lack of local TV in Britain is the biggest single failing of the British broadcasting industry''.”