LOCAL TV Cardiff[1] (formerly known as TalkCardiff, Cardiff TV and Made in Cardiff) is a local television station serving Cardiff and surrounding areas. The station is owned and operated by Local Television Limited and formed part of a group of eight Local TV channels.
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Cardiff |
| Headquarters | Elgin House, St Mary's Street, Cardiff |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 576i (16:9 SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Local Television Limited |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 15 October 2014 |
| Former names | Made in Cardiff Cardiff TV TalkCardiff |
| Links | |
| Website | [1] |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 8 |
The channel is predominantly hosted by Local TV reporter James Peej-Watkins.
Overview
editIn September 2012, the broadcast regulator OFCOM announced Made Television had been awarded a licence to broadcast the local TV service for the Cardiff area, serving a potential audience of 800,000 viewers, stretching from Merthyr Tydfil in the north to Bridgend in the west and Newport in the east.[2] The licence was also contested by 'Cardiff Local TV', a group set up by the locally based technology firm Cube Interactive.[3]
Previously, a low-powered RSL station, Capital TV, broadcast to the Cardiff area from 2002 to 2009, when analogue transmissions ceased from the Wenvoe transmitter.
The station began broadcasting on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media platforms at 8pm on Wednesday 15 October 2014, a week after the launch of sister station Made in Bristol.[4] After three months on air, Made in Cardiff claimed a weekly audience of 104,000 viewers.[5]
Since August 2015, the station has also been streaming live online via its website. On 5 April 2016, Made in Cardiff moved from Freeview channel 23 to Freeview channel 8.[6]
As of April 2016, Made in Cardiff's station manager is Daniel Glyn. Made TV's Cardiff and Bristol stations also shared a regional managing director, Chris James.[7]
In July 2016, the channel reported it claimed a weekly audience of 160,000 viewers,[8] including nearly 100,000 for its evening news programmes and 70,000 for the nightly magazine show The Lowdown.
In February 2017, a revamp of the station's local output led to the launch of a flagship two-hour live magazine show on weeknights, The Crunch Cardiff, incorporating news, sport, current affairs and entertainment. A weekly half-hour Welsh language programme, Made Cymraeg, was introduced in May 2017, following the launch of Made in North Wales.
On Thursday 25 May 2017, Made in Cardiff and its sister channels began carrying acquired programming from the UK & Ireland version of factual entertainment channel TruTV as part of a supply agreement with Sony Pictures Television. The station simulcasts TruTV in two daily blocks from 1-5pm and from 9pm-1am (8pm – midnight on Tuesdays to accommodate America's Got Talent).[9][10] As of November 2017, the Made network simulcasts CBS Reality for eleven hours a day.
In November 2017, following a restructuring of the Made network's operations,[11] The Crunch Cardiff was axed and studio production of daily news and magazine programmes was transferred to other Made TV stations.
On 2 January 2018, Made in Cardiff ceased broadcasting as a sole local channel and was replaced on all platforms by a generic Made Television networked feed, including a daily three-hour block of local news programming for six of the network's licence areas, including Cardiff.[12]
Programming
editCardiff TV is required to broadcast 37 hours a week of first-run local programming.
As of February 2018, the station's sole local production is Cardiff Live, a half-hour block of pre-recorded local news, sport and features airing each weeknight at 5pm on the generic Made Television networked feed.[12]
Programmes produced by the other Local TV Ltd stations also air on the channel along with acquired programming from independent producers and other broadcasters around the UK, including the thrice-daily programming blocks, originally from CBS Reality and since the start of 2023, from TalkTV, airing from 9-11am, 1-5pm and 9pm-2am.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Cardiff News, Sport and What's On South Wales". Cardiff TV. 17 December 2020.
- ^ Local TV: Made in Cardiff to be capital's new channel, BBC News, 19 September 2012
- ^ Local TV: No bids for Swansea, but two for Cardiff, BBC News, 14 August 2012
- ^ First Welsh local TV station prepares for launch Archived 1 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, OFCOM, 15 October 2014
- ^ Local TV channel Made in Cardiff releases strong maiden viewing figure numbers, WalesOnline, 14 January 2015
- ^ Made in Cardiff to move up on Freeview Archived 17 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Made in Cardiff, 4 April 2016
- ^ The manager of Cardiff's local TV channel has left – so it's going to be run from Bristol, WalesOnline, 20 February 2016
- ^ Made in Cardiff gains ground, Broadcast Now, 15 July 2016
- ^ Made Television reveals all-new summer line up Archived 1 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Made Television, 25 May 2017
- ^ TruTV on Made Archived 1 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Made Television, 25 May 2017
- ^ Jobs to be axed at Made in Birmingham TV station, Birmingham Post, 26 October 2017
- ^ a b Made TV splits Sky and Freeview local TV feeds Archived 10 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, a516digital.com, 4 January 2018
- ^ Maher, Bron (3 January 2023). "TalkTV signs content partnership with David Montgomery's Local TV". Press Gazette. Retrieved 5 February 2023.