That's Manchester

About That's Manchester

Overview

That's Manchester is the local television service for Greater Manchester, operated by That's TV as part of its UK-wide network of local stations. Broadcasting on Freeview channel 7 from the Winter Hill transmitter, it began broadcasting with a soft launch at 9pm on Sunday 31 May 2015. The station is based at The Flint Glass Works at 64 Jersey Street in the Ancoats suburb of Manchester, which is also the headquarters of the That's TV group.

Before That's Manchester, the Greater Manchester area had been served by Channel M, a locally focused television service that broadcast from February 2000 until April 2012, when it was deemed unviable to continue by its owners. That's Manchester restored a local TV presence to the region.

Licence history

In 2013, as part of the national roll-out of local television, Ofcom awarded the Manchester local TV licence to YourTV Manchester, but the channel failed to launch within the two-year timeframe stipulated by Ofcom. The company had also won the Preston and Blackpool licence, beating four other bids for Manchester including Made in Manchester, Manchester News Channel, MCR TV and Metro8 Manchester.

That's TV subsequently took a controlling stake in YourTV in March 2015, and in May 2015 Ofcom granted That's Manchester a ten-and-a-half-year licence to provide a local television service. YourTV remained the official licence-holder with a small shareholding, but control of the channel lay with That's TV, and the service was rebranded as That's Manchester.

Launch and early years

The channel's soft launch took place at 9pm on Sunday 31 May 2015. Broadcasting to its licence area from the Winter Hill transmitter via a directional localised signal beam on Freeview channel 7, it gave Greater Manchester a new local television service following Channel M's closure three years earlier. Winter Hill is one of the main transmitters for the North West, and the localised beam allows the Manchester service to target its licensed area within the wider region the transmitter serves.

In March 2016, the station was placed on notice by Ofcom over persistent technical issues in its programming, along with its sister stations That's Oxfordshire and That's Solent. The channel has since operated within the network's consolidated production model.

Programming and local news

That's Manchester carries local news and information for Greater Manchester within the That's TV network's schedules, which combine local opt-outs with national programming of classic British television series, vintage entertainment and music. The network's output includes classic sitcoms and dramas alongside 1980s music videos in daytime.

The That's TV website carries a dedicated Manchester section with local news for the city and surrounding towns, reflecting the conurbation's scale as one of England's largest urban areas. The channel's broadcasts are also available nationally through the That's TV national channel on Freeview channel 56 outside Manchester's local slot.

Ancoats headquarters

The station's studios at The Flint Glass Works, 64 Jersey Street in Ancoats, place it in one of Manchester's most distinctive districts, a former industrial area transformed into a media and creative quarter. The building is also the headquarters of That's Media Ltd, the parent company of the That's TV network.

The concentration of the group's operations in Manchester makes That's Manchester the flagship local station of the network, with the national channel's production also centred on the city.

Competition in local TV

In January 2021, Local Television Limited began broadcasting a separate service targeting Manchester viewers, known as Manchester TV. Unlike the group's other channels, Manchester TV is not the official local-TV service provider; That's Manchester occupies the Comux local multiplex slot and LCN 7, with LTV's Manchester TV occupying a lower berth on LCN 99 using the legacy Greater Manchester multiplex originally set up for the defunct Channel M.

Local TV Manchester closed abruptly on Freeview on 15 December 2021, leaving That's Manchester as the sole local television service for the area.

The That's TV network

That's TV operates the UK's largest chain of local television stations, with services across England, Scotland and Wales, and its national channel on Freeview channel 56. The group's model combines a national classic entertainment channel with local news opt-outs in the licensed areas.

In July 2019 the company consolidated its 20 local studios into seven regional production centres, with Manchester announced as one of the remaining centres alongside Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Cambridge, Salisbury and Swansea.

Channel M: the predecessor

Before That's Manchester, Greater Manchester was served by Channel M, a locally focused television service that broadcast from February 2000 until April 2012. Channel M was one of the most established city television services of the pre-local-TV-framework era, producing local news and programming for the conurbation for over a decade before its owners deemed it unviable to continue.

The three-year gap between Channel M's closure and That's Manchester's launch left Greater Manchester without a dedicated local television service, and the new channel's arrival in May 2015 restored a local TV presence to one of England's largest urban areas. The legacy Greater Manchester multiplex originally set up for Channel M later found a second life carrying other services, a reminder of the city's long history with local television.

The Ancoats media quarter

The station's studios at The Flint Glass Works, 64 Jersey Street, place it in Ancoats, one of Manchester's most distinctive districts. Once the world's first industrial suburb, Ancoats has been transformed in recent decades into a media and creative quarter, its former mills and warehouses converted to house production companies, digital businesses and cultural venues.

The Flint Glass Works building is also the headquarters of That's Media Ltd, the parent company of the That's TV network, making Manchester the operational heart of the UK's largest local TV group. That's Manchester is in effect the network's flagship local station, with the national channel's production also centred on the city and the group's regional production centre for the North West based there. The concentration of the network in Manchester reflects the city's long-standing role as Britain's leading media centre outside London.

Greater Manchester's news agenda

Greater Manchester is one of the largest urban areas in England, with a population of nearly three million across the city and its surrounding boroughs. Its news agenda spans the city centre's commercial and cultural life, the MediaCityUK development at Salford Quays that houses major broadcasters, the region's two Premier League football clubs and their global followings, and the music and nightlife scenes that have defined the city's image for decades.

The local television service covers this vast conurbation's stories within the That's TV network's schedules, from developments in the city centre to the distinct identities of boroughs such as Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. The That's TV website's Manchester section extends this coverage online, with local news for the city and its surrounding towns. The scale of the conurbation, home to nearly three million people across the city and its boroughs, makes Greater Manchester one of the most significant local TV licence areas in the country.

How to watch

That's Manchester is available on Freeview channel 7 in the Greater Manchester area, broadcasting 24 hours a day with local news for the region within the That's TV network's schedules.

Local news and information for Manchester is available through the channel's broadcasts and through the That's TV website at thats.tv, which carries a dedicated Manchester section covering the city and surrounding areas.