Title: Ms Forename: Angi Surname: Mariani Representing: Organisation Organisation (if applicable): Latest TV Email: What do you want Ofcom to keep confidential?: Keep nothing confidential If you want part of your response kept confidential, which parts?: Ofcom may publish a response summary: Yes I confirm that I have read the declaration: Yes Ofcom should only publish this response after the consultation has ended: You may publish my response on receipt Additional comments: Question 1: Do you agree that 20 locations should be set as a minimum roll- out obligation?: Yes, because having a minimum of 20 locations would be a commercially viable option if the multiplex operator is run as a for-profit business. Having that number will also facilitate effective knowledge sharing, and encourage supportive practice between the phase 1 pilot areas for local service providers. Latest TV in Brighton and Hove is already modelling and championing collaborative working methods at a local level by working in partnership with both Juice 107.2 FM, the city's radio station, and Wired Sussex, our leading digital company, and has cross-party support from all of our MP's as well as many other organisations and business groups in the city. We already have collaborative relationships across the country, such as with Element TV and You TV, and would also be looking to build a good working relationship with our multiplex provider. "Brighton & Hove is a world class arts and media city with a very significant digital industry and a council that would like to move Brighton & Hove towards becoming the digital capital of Europe and the directors of this bid have excellent programming, entrepreneurial/financial and engineering skills... as a self-contained creative hub by the sea, Brighton & Hove is perfectly-suited to embrace local television. It has huge captive audiences of lovers of our city. It has swarms of media- savvy innovators. It has a wealth of successful local magazines. This is the next logical step" Mike Weatherley MP "I am writing in support of Latest TV's bid to provide a local TV service for Brighton and Hove...Brighton is very much a media city and has the fastest growing digital media industry in the country...we believe that a TV station based in Brighton serving local community needs is a strong business proposition" Phil Frier, Principal and Chief Executive, City College Brighton and Hove Question 2: Are the 20 proposed locations in our minimum roll-out list the right ones?: Yes. The proposed locations include a good range of locations and scales of operation across the UK. Brighton and Hove should definitely be amongst the first 20 due to providing the strongest evidence of local demand. Brighton and Hove do not have local TV news coverage currently as we have no studios or real TV presence here; our regional TV comes from studios in Southampton or Kent, therefore ours is a location that needs local TV more than any other British city. All of our MP's have sent messages to lend their support to our bid, which is supported by our council, chamber of commerce and a wide range of local businesses, universities and colleges, as well as our football club. In addition, Latest TV, representing the city of Brighton and Hove, has a proven track record in leading local media businesses and has already begun to deliver a range of programming including local news, politics, arts and entertainment online, on paper and on Internet TV. If awarded the licence Latest TV is ready to deliver a wide range of TV programmes including in depth local news coverage. "Brighton and Hove is a vibrant and progressive city with a wealth of media talent and a strong track record of community engagement, making it ideally placed to champion and make a success of local TV" Caroline Lucas, MP and leader of the UK Green party "Brighton and Hove has a very strong case for being a local TV trailblazer and the council will back the local bid by Latest TV to the hilt. Our vibrant, creative and digital city is home to many talented people, many of whom already work in TV, and we badly need a truly local TV station to focus on the needs and interests of Brighton and Hove. Local TV would provide a great opportunity to air important local issues, celebrate the city's successes and bring communities together" Bill Randall, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council and Mayor from 20/5/12 1. Brighton & Hove City Council agrees that the city of Brighton & Hove should be one of the 20 proposed locations in the minimum roll-out list and that the coverage for this area should be extended to include our parliamentary constituencies of East Brighton and Lewes. This is important for involving people in local decision-making and promoting local democracy. We firmly believe in the principles of the proposed “Licensing Local Television” which is about supporting local content, informing and involving local communities, and improving local democracy and accountability. Local television is an ideal platform to achieving these aims. 2. Brighton & Hove City Council will continue to provide senior strategic support and proactively work with key partners as a member of the advisory panel which is being set up to over-see the bid. John Barradell, Chief Executive, Brighton & Hove City Council Question 3: Are the 24 locations the ones, from our list of 65 sites where local TV is technically possible, where there is a demand from local service operators? Should any locations be added to, or subtracted from, this list?: We are happy with these further 24 sites for phase 2 of the roll-out. Question 4: Do you agree with our approach to selecting sites for the second phase of local service licensing: inviting the multiplex applicants to select from the further list of locations where there is demand from potential service providers?: Yes, as this additional coverage proposition forms part of the criteria for the judging of applications from potential Multiplex providers. From reading the Ofcom document 'Licensing Local Television' we understand it may not be possible for Ofcom to specify additional locations to the Multiplex operator once it has gone beyond its minimum specified list of locations, however our preference would be for Ofcom to oversee the process for reasons of fairness Question 5: Do you agree with our proposed approach to building out and substituting further areas, in the second phase of licensing?: Yes. We also think that there should be a timescale on the build-out rather than 'as soon as possible' for the multiplex licensees, to avoid delays to the local service operators Question 6: Do you agree with our approach to dealing with requests for extension to coverage?: Yes, and if areas wish to do that, we think that Ofcom should be in a position to support the local operator by validating the evidence for this to a multiplex operator if necessary. However we believe that 'local' means just that - if coverage is extended too much, we could be at risk of becoming too diluted and our coverage would become more 'regional' again - which is not what our core demand in the parliamentary constituencies of Brighton and Hove wants. Also, if in the future, our multiplex operator sought to increase local coverage considerably beyond our core target area, we would want to consider whether it would be of any benefit to us before agreeing to any increase in cost being passed on to us. Our most pressing concern is with regard to our present coverage. Our map does not give us network access to East Brighton and Lewes, but it is very important to us to be able to include these areas right from the start rather than as an extension to our coverage at a later date. Peter Madry (Ofcom) writes "In practical terms though, while it may be possible to improve matters to the east, coverage is unlikely to extend as far as Lewes. The shape of the terrain makes it difficult to serve all of Brighton and surrounds from a single transmitter. For example, there are a number of smaller relay transmitters that fill in coverage for the national TV services in and around the town. Building more transmitters increases costs and presents complications when trying to avoid interference" However we understand that Lewes currently receives its national TV from its own transmitter, which is a relay transmitter for Heathfield, and we hope that it would be possible for the Lewes transmitter to receive a signal from the Brighton Whitehawk mast if we were to have more power. This solution would not entail the building of any more relay transmitters. We are aware that this has not been done before, but we believe that this coverage is important to us for local TV and would be very pleased if a feasible solution can be found. "I support the bid for Brighton & Hove to be one of the winning areas for local TV. Our city clearly has vibrant cultural, business and political scenes which would benefit from the level of in-depth local coverage the Latest TV bid would provide. I agree that the transmission coverage should be extended to cover the whole of the city including East Brighton and if possible Lewes" Jason Kitcat, Green City councillor and Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council from 20/5/12 "Brighton is the perfect City to support a local television channel, with many talented, creative residents, a vibrant digital media sector and with a need for a truly local news service.