City-based broadcaster Notts TV will close down earlier than expected after owner Nottingham Trent University pulled funding for the decade-old station. NTU, which is the parent company of the local TV station, told staff that its licence to broadcast would not be renewed back in February.The university, which had used the station to train students in journalism and TV production, said not enough people had been involved to warrant further investment into running the operation. The channel has now announced it will stop broadcasting on Friday, August 29, instead of when its licence expires in November, as its workers have already left to find new jobs.Chris Breese, Notts TV channel manager, said: “We’re proud of the 11 years of hard work and innovation the channel has brought to local TV and online publishing – achieving lasting impact with our creativity, industry training and independent journalism. Hundreds of successful careers in journalism, radio, TV and film were started by the opportunities the channel offered, and thousands of Nottinghamshire stories and people were given a platform through our programming and online publishing.”Notts TV launched across Nottinghamshire on Freeview on May 27, 2014, serving as an independent broadcaster on Freeview/BT channel 7. Viewers can watch Notts TV on Freeview/BT 7 and Virgin 159 until midnight on Friday, August 29, with its end to be marked with a special schedule celebrating the channel’s most popular programmes and memorable Nottinghamshire moments since its launch 11 years ago.A final edition of live news and chat show Notts Today will air at 5.30pm on August 29, reflecting on more than a decade of local stories and achievements. NTU had previously said it hoped other organisations would step forward to submit proposals to TV regulator Ofcom to continue the station, but this has not happened.Professor Sarah Speight, deputy vice-chancellor at Nottingham Trent University, said: “While our intention had been to continue the partnership until the end of the licence period in November, it is entirely understandable that colleagues are moving on to new opportunities. With student placements now successfully concluded and the BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporting Service transferred to Reach PLC, we believe this is the appropriate moment to bring the channel’s operations to a close.“We are grateful for everything the team has accomplished over the past 11 years.” Notts TV’s website and social media channels will also no longer be active after August 29, however an archive of the channel’s programming will remain available in the on-demand section of the channel website, and on its YouTube channel.
© 2025 Local World.