Hunt defends local TV plans
Jeremy Hunt defended his plans to roll out local TV channels across Britain on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Last Tuesday, culture secretary Hunt revealed the long list of cities which are in the running for a local TV service, with the short list to be narrowed down later this year.
He has said that the running costs for the stations would be about the same as it would be for a local newspaper, and that surveys by Ofcom showed 70% of people valued local TV news, with "a huge demand" for extra services.
Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If you look at a city like New York that has six local TV stations or Birmingham, Alabama, which has eight local TV stations compared to our Birmingham which has none, and you ask yourself, 'Why is it that those structures have meant there is local TV there and it hasn't worked here?'
"We have come up with a structure that does now bring down the cost base to make it viable in a way that hasn't happened before, and I think it will be fantastic.
"Anywhere outside the London broadcasting establishment, you find tremendous excitement for this because people know there is real hunger to have a better quality news service for what is happening on their doorstep."