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"Canis Media has today launched Comux UK, the first company to publicly express an interest in bidding to become the multiplex operator for the government&amp;#039;s much-vaunted new local TV channels. Canis has submitted a formal proposal to Ofcom to take on the &amp;#039;MuxCo&amp;#039; licence, which will operate the transmission infrastructure for the new generation of local TV stations in UK towns and cities. Broadcasters and media groups are able to bid for one of the various licences to offer local TV service in Britain, and MuxCo will manage the way they reach specific audience via the UK&amp;#039;s digital terrestrial television infrastructure.  Comux UK is Canis&amp;#039; new limited company set up to become the overarching operator, which it said will be &amp;quot;structured to ensure that the maximum possible return on the value of the gifted capacity is invested in local TV programming&amp;quot;.  This follows last week&amp;#039;s publication of new specifications around MuxCo by media regulator Ofcom, along with the BBC&amp;#039;s confirmation of its \u00A325m funding commitment to local TV up to 2017. Canis Media chief Ed Hall, who will lead the bid, said: &amp;quot;Comux UK was borne out of demand from potential local TV operators for an equitable, efficient and co-operative approach to providing a cost-effective distribution infrastructure for local TV.  &amp;quot;We believe that our business plan will provide a commercially sustainable and robust solution to the unique challenges facing local TV operators whilst providing an attractive return to all our stakeholders - including the commercial partners, the licence holders themselves and the local TV industry as a whole.&amp;quot; He added: &amp;quot;Local TV stations will need a wide range of services available to them, many of which a traditional broadcaster would already have in-house. I think it is vital that these services are made available on the kind of terms that only a well-managed national organisation could achieve.&amp;quot; Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has long held an ambition to create a network of sustainable local TV services across the UK, which he feels would improve local democracy and provide a viable alternative to the BBC&amp;#039;s local coverage. Hunt also believes that UK towns and cities should be able to access similarly vibrant local TV services as those seen in America and other countries.  Under Ofcom&amp;#039;s plans, around 20 specific sites around the UK are to get dedicated local TV services within the next two years, including London, Brighton &amp;amp; Hove, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast and Grimsby. Canis Media has said that its head of local TV Clare Bramley will chair a newly-formed representative council of UK local TV bidders, enabling &amp;quot;constant dialogue between the potential multiplex operator and the bidders&amp;quot;. The company, which facilitates the sale of electronic programme guide slots of Sky, also intends to set up a national commercial model for the sale and management of advertising inventory on local stations.  Bramley will then oversee the creation of a charitable trust into which a proportion of the profits from Comux UK will be channelled to help &amp;quot;guarantee the long term sustainability of local television stations&amp;quot;. &amp;gt; Freeview EPGs to get new advanced functionality "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/terrestrial/news/a368538/canis-media-bids-to-become-local-tv-multiplex-operator/>