That's Swansea Bay: TV service 'not local enough'

Swansea's local TV service failed to show enough locally-made programmes in 2017, the broadcast regulator has said.

A review of its output by Ofcom found That's Swansea Bay missed five out of six targets for the amount of local content required by its licence.

The only target achieved by the channel, formerly known as Bay TV Swansea, was for repeating its news and current affairs programmes.

The broadcaster told Ofcom it had since tightened procedures.

Bay TV Swansea rebranded to That's Swansea Bay after being taken over by That's TV in December 2017.

It launched in 2016 and is only available to view in the Swansea area.

Targets not hit

Ofcom had asked the channel to report how much local content it had broadcast during 2017.

The channel's report revealed it had failed to achieve targets for the number of hours of news, current affairs and other local programmes it was required to broadcast as part of its licence commitments.

The only target it met was for repeating news and current affairs programmes, however the target was zero hours.

Announcing its decision to find That's Swansea Bay in breach of its licence conditions, Ofcom said it had "a duty to ensure that the character of the licensed service … is maintained for the duration of the licence".

After being taken over in December 2017, the new operators of the channel successfully applied to reduce the amount of locally-made programmes it was required to broadcast as a condition of its licence.

The BBC has approached That's Swansea Bay for comment.