Channel M was a regional television station in England which broadcast to the

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

area between 2000 and 2012. The station, originally Manchester Student Television, was owned and operated by the GMG Regional Media division of

Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British-based mass media company owning various media operations including ''The Guardian'', and formerly ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the fin ...

Coverage

Originally an RSL station and the sixth such station to launch, Channel M was at first primarily available

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

on analogue terrestrial TV through channel 39 in central and south Manchester. The licence was awarded in 1997 to a group formed by managing director Philip Reevell in 1997, and was the largest city in terms of population to receive an RSL television station at the time. The channel began broadcasting free-to-air in conjunction with the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

in 2000. In 2004, Channel M launched on the NTL (now part of

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...

) digital cable platform, around Greater Manchester, mid-Lancashire and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. In April 2006 Channel M launched on digital satellite, the first RSL channel to do so, where it was broadcast free-to-air across Western Europe from Astra 28.2°E and was available on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

. The channel was removed from Sky channel 203 and Virgin Media channel 878 on 1 September 2010. The channel became the first broadcaster in the region to offer its programmes on demand via broadband TV on its website, which closed down in late March 2010. In January 2009, the broadcasting regulator

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

announced that Channel M would receive a licence to broadcast on Freeview after digital switchover. On 2 December 2009, Channel M ceased broadcasting on analogue UHF channel 39 (615 MHz). Around this time, the station announced plans to launch on Freeview (digital terrestrial television); broadcasts began on Monday 12 April 2010.Channel M to move to Salford and plans new productions
, How Do, 19 March 2010

Programming

Originally, the main sources of programming were CHUM,

Euronews Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...

, Channel M's in-house productions and the University of Salford with Interference, Gloves Off and Hitting Home, a documentary series. These were made in house by students and staff at the university. Canada-sourced output from CHUM was gradually replaced by in-house Channel M Productions as the station developed more local programming, particularly following the station's launch on digital satellite services in April 2006. Major cutbacks saw most of the station's non-news output axed in May 2009. Remaining GMG production ceased on 19 March 2010, leaving the station with a schedule of archive and acquired output.

Salford University input / output

The history of Channel M can be traced back to the 1996 Broadcasting Act which made provision for six local Restricted Service Licences (RSL) to be issued around the UK. The Manchester RSL was awarded to the

in 1997 and the channel began life as Manchester Student Television (MSTV), operated by a consortium that included the university and

, amongst others. All partners started producing content in the autumn of 1998, and this was stockpiled in advance of launch on 14 February 2000. Programming produced by the University of Salford continued to be broadcast on the station until shortly before its closure. Featured programming included ''Reel North'' (short films), ''Zeitgeist'' (arts magazine), ''Grey Matters'' (studio debate), ''Hitting Home'' (documentary) and ''Wildtrack'' (wildlife documentary), four of which won a total of nine Royal Television Society awards. ''Interference'', an arts show, helped launch careers of presenters and comedians, including OJ Borg and Jason Manford. Gloves Off was a student debate programme that ran for four years.

Guardian Media Group output

From 2004 until July 2009, the station's flagship programme was the 5pm weeknight edition of ''Channel M News'' (produced in conjunction with the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

''), which later expanded to include breakfast,"Channel M Breakfast Show,"
April 19, 2010, updated January 12, 2013, ''

'' retrieved June 25, 2023 lunchtime"Channel M lunchtime news,"
April 19, 2010, updated January 12 2013, ''

,'' retrieved June 25, 2023 and late evening bulletins as well as a weekly review programme and occasional live specials. Until May 2009, GMG also produced entertainment programmes including the weekly entertainment round-up ''City Life'', the comedy talk-show '' Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show'', and regular music coverage. Programming such as the weekly music show ''City Life Social'' and video/computer game review series ''Re:Loaded'' helped Channel M to gain viewers nationally. Donohue, Simon
"Channel M special for Nine Black Alps,"
November 29, 2007, updated January 18, 2013,''

'' retrieved June 25, 2023 ''City Life Social'', ''The Great Northern Music Show'' and ''In Session'' were Channel M's main music programmes, often presented by Gerry McLaughlin with Clint Boon as a stand-in host. These programmes usually featured live, acoustic or "unplugged" studio and outside broadcast performances from alternative and indie bands. Former BBC Radio Manchester host,

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

presenter and Factory Records boss Tony Wilson was due to present a Friday evening music and entertainment show called ''The New Friday'', produced by former Granada producer and BBC Radio Manchester host Eamonn O'Neill. However, this programme was postponed after Wilson became terminally ill with cancer. Wilson died in August 2007 and the plans for '' The New Friday'' were soon abandoned. ''City Life Social'' (previously ''City Centre Social'') then became the station's flagship music show, as Channel M shifted towards a greater focus on live performances within programmes. This policy continued until the music department ceased production in May 2009, shortly after the station announced severe cutbacks in staff and programming.

Studios

The channel was originally based at smaller studios in the Triangle shopping mall and the later at the Printworks entertainment complex in

Manchester city centre Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...

, until Channel M moved to the former

Urbis Urbis is a building in Manchester, England, designed by Ian Simpson (architect), Ian Simpson, which opened in 2002 as part of the redevelopment of Exchange Square (Manchester), Exchange Square. Originally a Museum of the City, a switch was made i ...

museum in August 2005. ''Channel M News'' was initially pre-recorded until live bulletins were launched in May 2006. The studio's position on the ground floor of Urbis in Manchester city centre gave a live elevated background shot of the area around Cathedral Gardens and

Manchester Victoria railway station Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England, is a combined mainline railway station and Manchester Metrolink, Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathe ...

. The station's production team were based at the offices of the '' Stockport Express'' before moving to Urbis in March 2006. In November 2007, Channel M's news team moved again to the MEN Media headquarters at Spinningfields, which was used as a secondary studio base for some news bulletins. The station later moved its in-house transmission and administration facilities from Urbis to

GMG Radio GMG Radio was a company that owned the Real Radio and Smooth Radio networks. As GMG Radio, the company was the radio division of the Guardian Media Group until it was bought in 2012 by Global Radio, however pending regulatory review of the me ...

's headquarters at Laser House in

Salford Quays Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it faces Trafford across the canal. History Built by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, Sal ...

. Studio content produced by Salford University was originally produced at the Adelphi Building in Peru Street, Salford, but later moved to new facilities at MediaCity:UK in Salford Quays.

Fate

On 27 April 2009, Channel M's then-chief executive Mark Dodson announced that the station was looking to make 41 redundancies from its 74 staff and restrict weekday live programming from four programmes (totalling six hours of output) to one three-hour news magazine programme, broadcast between 4pm and 7pm, in order to cut losses. A company review carried out by the Guardian Media Group before the announcement recommended that the station should focus on news and general sport programming. Channel M also ceased all of its stand-alone entertainment, sport and features programming as well as the weekday breakfast show (which was, for a short time, replaced by live footage of the area's traffic cameras accompanied by a simulcast of Real Radio North West) and the lunchtime and evening news bulletins. News and sport coverage was incorporated into ''Channel M Today'' which launched on Monday 13 July 2009, broadcast on weekdays from 4pm to 7pm and presented by chief news anchor Andy Crane, alongside a rotating team of sports and features presenters. In February 2010, the station's owners

were reported to be in talks with staff regarding options for Channel M's future after the company sold off 32 of its regional newspaper titles, including the ''

'', to

Trinity Mirror Reach plc (known as Trinity Mirror between 1999 and 2018) is a British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. It is one of the UK's biggest newspaper groups, publishing 240 regional papers in addition to the national ''Daily Mirror'', '' ...

for £44.8 million. The following month, the station announced its remaining in-house regional programmes, including the flagship magazine show ''Channel M Today'', would cease production by Friday 19 March 2010. 29 of the station's 33 staff were made redundant. Several ex-GMG employees later secured consultancy positions working on Salford University productions at the IMC. The station then broadcast a mix of archived programming, original output from Salford University and simulcasts of

and Real Radio North West, alongside some new programming from independent and third party producers. The station's in-house transmission and administration facilities were later based at Laser House in Salford Quays and managed by GMG's regional radio division. By the start of 2012, all remaining local programming had ended, resulting in a schedule consisting of simulcasts of Real Radio North West and Euronews, and acquired programming from The Community Channel. On 16 April 2012, GMG Radio announced its decision to close Channel M after 12 years of broadcasting. The station's owners said UK government plans for localised television services would not allow the station to run a commercially viable service in the future. The channel ceased broadcasting on Freeview the same day, leading to three redundancies. By 2023, That's Media Group, the parent of That's TV, had acquired the Freeview capacity that had been created for Channel M and was using it to broadcast music videos.

Programmes

*''30 Minutes of...'' *''4 Manchester'' *''The Biker Show'' *''Campus Cooking'' *'' Channel M Breakfast'' *'' Channel M Lunchtime News'' *'' Channel M Late News'' *'' Channel M News Live'' *'' Channel M News Review'' *''Channel M Playlist'' *''Channel M Plays Pop'' *''Channel M Today'' *''City Centre Social'' *''The City Debate Show'' *''City Life'' *''City Life Comedian of the Year'' *''City Life Social'' *'' Code XIII'' *''Code XIII: Grassroots'' *''Community Focus'' *''Cookin' Impossible'' *''Crime Team'' *''Fashion Face Off'' *'' FC United'' *'' Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show'' *''The Football Debate Show'' * Gloves Off (debate programme). *''The Great Manchester Football Show'' *''The Great Northern Music Show'' *''Grey Matters'' *''Hitting Home'' *'' The Homesmine'' (previously ''Homesearch'') *''I Love Manchester'' *''In Session'' * Interference (entertainment) *''Inside MCFC'' *''The Jobsmine'' (previously ''Jobsearch'') *''The Lancashire Cricket Show'' *''The Latics Football Show'' *'' Life As I Know It'' *''Made in Manchester'' *''Manchester Exchange'' *''Manchester Fight Night'' *''Manchester Unlimited'' *''M:usic Live'' *''The Phoenix Ice Hockey Show'' *''Reel North'' *''Re:Loaded'' *''The Run'' *''Seconds Out'' *''Sports Central'' *''Style In The City'' *''Talking Sharks'' *''Teleshopping'' *''The United Debate Show'' *''Wildtrack'' *''Zeitgeist''

Imported programmes

Programmes produced by CHUM TV included: *''Arts and Minds'' *''Best! Movies! Ever!'' *''Egos and Icons'' *''

Much Music Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

'' *'' Much In Your Space'' *''Fashion Television'' *''In Fashion'' *''Star at The Movies'' Other providers: *Relays of the ITN News Channel (2000) *''Gillette World Sport'' ( Sunset+Vine) *''Toyota World of Wildlife'' (Sunset+Vine) *'' Movies, Games and Videos'' (Capricorn Programmes) * MUTV highlightsProgramme Details
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Royal Television Society (North West) Awards

Channel M programmes were short-listed for RTS North West Awards on numerous occasions since 2001 and won a total of eight times - once for GMG-produced output (Andy Crane) and seven times for the University of Salford. In addition to programme awards, the station's website won the RTS Best Online award in 2008.

Programme winners

* ''Hitting Home: Final Clearance'' - Best Cable, Satellite or RSL programme (2001); University of Salford for Channel M * ''Channel M'' - Best Newcomers (2005) (The RTS were 'unable to split' the three nominations for the award - GMG reporter Laura Fogg, Salford University presenter Gerry McLaughlin and the production team for ''Reel North'' - so instead the Society presented a generic award to Channel M. Effectively, all three nominations lost out on an award, even though they all came joint-first). * ''Hitting Home: Displaced'' - Best Regional Programme (2005); University of Salford for Channel M * ''Reel North'' - Best Regional Programme (2006); University of Salford for Channel M * ''Nigel Hoar & Angela Byrne'' - Best Newcomers (2008); University of Salford for Channel M * ''Zeitgeist'' - Best Low Budget Programme (2009); University of Salford for Channel M * ''Andy Crane'' - Best Regional Presenter (2009); Guardian Media Group * ''Reel North'' - "Overcoming Adversity" - Best Regional Programme (2010) (produced by the

)."Awards for Channel M,"
April 17, 2010, updated04:09, January 18, 2013, ''

,'' retrieved June 25, 2023 * ''Wildtrack'' - Best Low Budget Programme (2011); University of Salford for Channel M

References

External links

Former Channel M blog siteReel North
{{DEFAULTSORT:Channel M RSL television channels Mass media in Manchester English-language television stations in the United Kingdom Defunct television channels in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2000 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2012 Guardian Media Group University of Salford