That’s TV has been found in breach of its licensing conditions after failing to provide “significant local newsgathering” in 14 of its licensed areas.The ruling from Ofcom refers to the eight months from April 2022 following a relaxation its licence that allowed the broadcaster to reduce the number of production bases, while maintaining a local service.The regulator said That’s TV did not maintain the character of the Licensed Service in.Aberdeen, Ayr, Basingstoke, Carlisle, Dundee, Edinburgh, Grimsby, Guildford, Oxford, Salisbury, Scarborough, Southampton and York. There were similar issues at sister channel YourTV Preston.Ofcom noted representations from That’s TV that it began to take steps to reform its approach to localness from September 2022, but said that did not change its decision.During 2022, Sacarborough received no local news coverage at all, while Aberdeen and Dundee only had one news story each about their locality.Ofcom will continue to assess That’s TV’s compliance through the annual return process and expects That’s TV to keep its practices under review to ensure compliance.
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