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BBC News
By Ian Youngs
image captionThirty-four local TV channels are on air around the UK
A decade ago, a plan for new local TV channels to provide a new voice for local communities was set out by the government. Since they launched, the local identities and ambitions of many have eroded, but their operators insist they have fulfilled the original aim.
TV channels for towns and cities around the UK would transform lots of communities , broadcast leadership debates for councils and police commissioners, and provide probably the biggest shake-up in our broadcasting landscape for two decades .
That was the idea behind local TV - Jeremy Hunt s big idea as culture secretary 10 years ago.
by David Prior
A new local TV station, Manchester TV, is launching tonight.
The channel will go live at 6pm on Freeview Channel 99 and forms part of the new Northern TV Network (NTVN) that includes Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds.
Local TV, chaired by industry veteran and former Local World and Mirror Group boss David Montgomery, is behind the new launch.
He said: “Our new channel and NTVN will unashamedly champion the communities and the businesses of the north. The launch is a culmination of a £6milllion investment in our mission to move the TV world from the dated model of centralisation to a new age of localisation with journalists working in the heart of their communities.”