Jonathan Boseley 'to shake up' British television with new London Live channel
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Details have been revealed of London’s first dedicated 24-hour television channel, London Live, which will go on air in the Spring of next year.
In a presentation to the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Jonathan Boseley, the channel’s Head of Programming, said the new service would “champion new talent, both behind and in front of camera, to shake things up”. He told the audience that London Live was not interested in “celebrity driven formats”.
Boseley said: “Our ambition for London Live is very simple – to create a noisy, knowing, celebratory, vibrant platform for new creative thinking and risk taking formats that puts young Londoners and the London creative community at the heart of our offering.”
London Live is being produced by ESTV, which is owned by Evgeny Lebedev, who also owns The Independent and i newspaper. Boseley said the channel would share “cross platform reach opportunities with the London Evening Standard, also owned by Mr Lebedev.
The Head of Programming also announced that London Live would feature Platform 8, a flagship documentary strand which will feature the work of digital filmmakers and will aim to showcase “provocative, contemporary, distinctive perspectives on London life with mainstream audience appeal”. After 11pm the channel will highlight “experimental content”, including short films, music videos and animation.
London Live is one of 19 channels being launched as part of a roll out of local television across the United Kingdom. The Edinburgh festival was also addressed today by Nigel Dacre, chair of the Local TV Network, at what was a launch event for the initiative. Jane Mote, programme director for London Live, later talked of the implications of the channel for the television industry as a whole.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments