Independent broadcaster to shut down after 10 years

Independent broadcaster Notts TV is to close down after more than a decade, it has been announced.

Nottingham Trent University (NTU), which runs the local news channel, confirmed on Monday it would not be seeking to renew its licence from communications regulator Ofcom.

It means Notts TV's current licence will expire in November this year, at which point the channel would shut down.

The university, which is the main funder of the broadcaster, said "the numbers involved have been too small to warrant continued investment".

The local news outlet, covering Nottingham and the wider county, has been running since 2014.

In a notice to colleagues, the university's vice-chancellor Prof Edward Peck - who announced his upcoming departure from the position in January - said: "In November 2025, Notts TV's broadcasting licence will be up for renewal.

"This has provided NTU with an opportunity to consider if Notts TV delivers sufficient benefit to its students at a time when all organisations in and around the public sector are operating with constrained budgets.

"Whilst students who have had placements with Notts TV have gained significant real work experience, the numbers involved have been too small to warrant continued investment."

The university said it hoped other organisations would submit their own proposals to Ofcom "to continue focused local broadcasting and pick up the baton that NTU has been holding aloft since May 2014".

Interim chairman of Notts TV, Mike Sassi, said the channel looked forward to "bringing you the best of what we do over the next few months" and thanked its supporters.

"We're incredibly proud of everything Notts TV has achieved over the last decade," he said.

"We've also helped to launch hundreds of careers in media across Britain and beyond with our industry training, and held power to account by hosting the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service."

A spokesperson for Ofcom added: "The statutory deadline for all local TV services to apply for their renewal is 31 March 2025.

"If an existing licensee decided not to apply to renew their licence, Ofcom would need to consider whether it would be appropriate to complete a competitive re-licensing process to provide an opportunity for a new service to apply for a local TV licence in that specific area.

"We will only take this decision once the renewal application window has closed and we have the full information regarding which licensees have applied for renewal or not."

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.