Leeds United must wait for decision on TV channel bid

United are among five parties competing for a licence that will let the holder broadcast programmes in the Leeds area.

A decision on the successful bidder was originally expected from media regulator Ofcom by the end of 2012.

But yesterday it was announced that it has yet to establish a date for the announcement of the Leeds licence winner.

A spokeswoman for the regulator could only say it was hoped decisions on all 21 licences
being awarded nationwide would be made before the end of February.

Should United’s bid be successful, their channel would be called Leeds TV.

The station would join Leeds’s existing media arm, which includes their LUTV online television channel and the club website, as well as Elland Road-based Yorkshire Radio.

Leeds’s application to Ofcom says sport-themed shows would only form part of its output.

The United bid was submitted prior to the purchase late last year of the club from chairman Ken Bates by Dubai-based investment bank GFH Capital.

Leeds’s application says, however, that “the long-term existence and success of Leeds TV is not dependent upon the ownership of [the football club]”.

It also says: “We are enormously passionate about creating a local TV channel that instils a strong sense of civic pride and inclusion.”

United’s rival bidders are:

• Made in Leeds, based at the Leeds Media Centre in Chapeltown.

• Metro8 Leeds, which has links with an independent Canadian broadcaster.

• NORTH, which would broadcast material, including community-generated content, 24 hours a day.

• YourTV Leeds, which says it would be in a position to begin broadcasting by October this year if it is chosen.

Other areas where local licences are being awarded by Ofcom include Sheffield and Newcastle.

Successful bidders will be able to broadcast their programmes digitally, although there will be an option to offer services on satellite and cable.