New TV station comes to Norwich as Ofcom gives green light to Mustard
Mustard TV, a joint venture between community media publisher Archant together with other Norwich based partners, has today been awarded the licence by Ofcom to run a new local TV channel based in Norwich.
Mustard Chairman, Johnny Hustler, said: 'We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to extend the valuable service we have been providing to the people of Norwich and Norfolk for the past 160 years through our printed and digital publications such as the EDP and Evening News.
'We look forward to producing a station which will highlight a wide range of local issues, stimulate well-informed debate and motivate local people to engage.
Mustard managing director, Fiona Ryder said: 'Our vision is for Mustard to be seen as a community asset: a local broadcast service that reflects life and champions community concerns and gives viewers a new voice. We will partner with academic institutions, local businesses and production companies to ensure that Mustard is an authentic local service made by and for the people of Norwich.
'As part of Archant, one of the UK's largest independently owned regional media groups, with its group head office in Norwich, Mustard is uniquely positioned to sustain a local commercial television service for the city and the surrounding area.
'It will draw on its long-established media resources, especially in the delivery of high-quality journalism across a range of media channels, commercial sales, sponsorship and back office support.'
Mustard's news bulletins will devote roughly five times as much airtime to Norwich focused news each weekday than the existing coverage provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia, and its flagship magazine programme, The Mustard Show, will add over three hours per week of Norwich-related programming to the Freeview schedule.
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Other content will include original local programming in a number of genres such as factual, entertainment and documentary, alongside events, arts and sports coverage.
Mustard is expected to start broadcasting in autumn 2013 on channel 8 and will be on air from 6am to midnight, seven days a week, providing access to the latest news, weather and traffic information.
Mustard Digital, the online web TV platform will launch in January 2013, and be joined by the Freeview service later in the year.
