ITV Local was a broadband TV service provided by UK commercial public service broadcaster

ITV plc ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on the ...

, the contractor and provider of ITV in 11 of the 15 television regions. First established in 2005, the website provided local news, weather and features on demand 24 hours a day. The project began with two trial services in Brighton and

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in ITV's Meridian region. Due to the success of this, the service was expanded to cover the entire Meridian region, then the whole of the ITV network. On 4 March 2009, it was announced that ITV Local would close as a separate business. It did so on 17 March 2009, with the regions integrated into

ITV.com itv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 13 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV brand (or the UTV brand in Northern Ireland). The website offers online streaming, ...

Features

ITV Local included the following: * Local jobs, classified ads and dating * All versions of the regional news bulletins * Extended news features and updates through the day * Entertainment features, extended interviews and an entertainments listings service * Five-day weather forecasts for all regions * Many regional programmes, such as ''Country Ways'' and current affairs series ''Focus'' as shown on Meridian and ''Metroland'' in London * Short films sent in by viewers * Live streaming cameras from scenic locations and special events * Short features from local professional filmmakers Each region's site also featured special channels unique to that area and short-duration special events. ITV Local hosted special features for the British University Sports Association,

Cowes Week Cowes Week ( ) is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily sailing races, up to 1,000 boats, and 8,000 competitors ranging from Olympic and world-class professionals to weekend sailors, it is the largest saili ...

, the Notting Hill Carnival, Thames Festival, Latitude Festival and the

British International Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at T ...

Additional UGC services

ITV Local also offered a range of user-generated content (UGC)-based multi-regional services under the brand, including an

iReport iReport was CNN's citizen journalism initiative that allowed people from around the globe to contribute pictures and video of breaking news stories. It was similar to Wikinews in that it allowed, and encouraged, ordinary citizens to submit st ...

-like video upload and social networking site known as YourNews and a site based around local sports events. A new photo-sharing and photo-mapping site was planned for mid-August.

ITV restructuring and planned closure

Changes to the regional structure and output of ITV Media Guardian - Unions slam ITV regional cuts
/ref> negatively affected ITV Local, which was heavily dependent on ITV regional content. ITV's core TV advertising business also performed poorly due to the economic downturn. The business was also hit by more general issues at ITV Online, surrounding their gaming offerings and Friends Reunited, which gave concern to shareholders and senior staff. As a result, on 4 March 2009 ITV announced that Local would close in April, as part of a 40% reduction in ITV Online Headcount. The Scoot sub-brand was marked for sale along with

Friends Reunited Friends Reunited was a portfolio of social networking websites based upon the themes of reunion with research, dating and job-hunting. The first and eponymous website was created by a husband-and-wife team in the classic back-bedroom Internet s ...

. Some services such as news and weather were transferred to the ITV.com parent brand. ITV Local closed on 17 March 2009 as a separate business, with the regions integrated to

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Itv Local ITV (TV network) Internet properties established in 2005 Internet properties disestablished in 2009 Mass media in Birmingham, West Midlands