Teesside TV

About Teesside TV

Overview

Teesside TV is the local television service for Middlesbrough, Teesside and surrounding areas of County Durham and North Yorkshire, broadcasting on Freeview channel 7 from the Bilsdale transmitter. Launched on 30 March 2017 as Made in Teesside, it is one of the local television channels owned and operated by Local Television Limited, the UK's second-largest local TV operator. The channel provides local news and programming for the Teesside area alongside networked entertainment output, and its licence has been renewed through to 2034.

The service has operated under several identities, from Made in Teesside through Teesside TV and TalkTeesside to its current place within the Local TV network. It serves the industrial towns of the Tees valley, an area with a strong identity built on steel, chemicals and engineering, with local news covering the region's economic transformation.

Launch as Made in Teesside

The channel launched on 30 March 2017 as Made in Teesside, part of the Made Television network's expansion into new local areas. The launch gave the Teesside conurbation, centred on Middlesbrough with Stockton, Hartlepool, Redcar and Darlington nearby, its first dedicated local television service on Freeview.

Broadcasting from the Bilsdale transmitter in North Yorkshire, the channel reached viewers across Teesside and into parts of County Durham and North Yorkshire. Its early output followed the Made model of local news and community programming for its area.

Local Television Limited ownership

In August 2018 Made Television was rebranded as Local Television Limited, and the Teesside station became Teesside TV within the group's city-named portfolio. The group, the UK's second-largest local TV operator, runs stations serving Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Mold, Newcastle and, from January 2025, London.

The group's model combines local news opt-outs for each area with shared networked programming, a structure designed to make local television economically sustainable. The Teesside station's local output is produced within this network framework.

Programming

Teesside TV's schedules combine local news for the Teesside area with networked entertainment programming shared across the Local TV stations. The local news covers the issues affecting the Tees valley, from industrial developments and regeneration projects to community life, sport and culture.

Beyond local news, the channel simulcasts networked channels, currently True Crime during daytimes and Legend in the evenings, providing round-the-clock schedules. The station's licence obligations include at least 37 hours per week of local programming, of which at least 12 hours must be dedicated to local news, reflecting the area's strong local television requirements.

The TalkTV period

In 2023 the Local TV channels began simulcasting TalkTV's news programmes during the day, and the stations were rebranded under the TalkTV name in October 2023, with the Teesside service appearing as TalkTeesside. The arrangement brought national news and opinion programming to the local channels alongside their local bulletins.

Following TalkTV's closure on broadcast television, the channels were rebranded back to their Local TV identities in 2024. The Teesside station resumed its place within the Local TV network with its local news and the networked entertainment simulcasts.

Licence renewal to 2034

Ofcom has renewed the Teesside local television licence through to 31 December 2034, extending a licence that was due to expire in November 2026. The renewal decision, published by the regulator, assessed the licensee's application and financial sustainability before granting the eight-year extension.

The renewal secures Teesside TV's future on Freeview for the next decade, alongside the group's other stations whose licences were similarly extended. Local TV Limited also announced distribution on the Freely TV streaming platform from 2026, extending the channels' reach.

Serving Teesside

Teesside is an urban area in North East England centred on the River Tees, with Middlesbrough as its largest town alongside Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool, Redcar and Billingham. The area's identity has been shaped by heavy industry, and its current story is one of economic transition, with major developments in offshore wind, chemicals and digital industries.

Teesside TV's local news covers this transformation alongside community stories, local sport including Middlesbrough FC, and cultural life. The channel gives the area a television voice distinct from the regional output of the national broadcasters.

Position in local television

Teesside TV operates within the Local Television Limited group, the second-largest local TV operator in the UK behind That's TV. The group's shared-programming model, with local news as the differentiating element, has sustained its stations through the challenges that have closed or consolidated other local channels.

The Teesside licence carries some of the most substantial local programming obligations in the local TV sector, reflecting Ofcom's assessment of the area's needs. The channel's renewal to 2034 demonstrates the regulator's confidence in its continued provision of local television for the Tees valley.

The Made network's early ambitions

Teesside TV began as part of an ambitious expansion by Made Television, the company founded to build a network of city television stations across the United Kingdom. By the time Made in Teesside launched in March 2017, the group had already established Made in Bristol in October 2014, Made in Cardiff in October 2014, Made in Tyne & Wear in November 2014 and Made in Leeds in November 2014, making it the holder of more local TV licences than any other operator at the time.

Chief executive Jamie Conway described the group's shared-services model as a way to realise economies of scale while keeping each channel rooted in its city, with local management teams, local production staff and all editorial decisions made locally. The company argued that local television had to be for local content and local advertisers, giving small businesses the chance to communicate with their communities rather than relying on national advertising. The Teesside launch extended this model to the North East, with the channel broadcasting from the Bilsdale transmitter across the Tees valley and into parts of County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Teesside's industrial story

The Teesside area's identity has been forged by heavy industry, with steelmaking, chemicals and engineering dominating the landscape along the River Tees for generations. Middlesbrough grew as an iron and steel town, while the surrounding area became one of the UK's great centres of the chemical industry. The closure of the SSI steelworks at Redcar marked the end of an era for the region and a moment of genuine economic trauma for its communities.

The subsequent redevelopment of the former steelworks site as Teesworks has become one of the largest industrial regeneration projects in the country, and the area's designation as a freeport has added momentum to its economic transition. Teesside TV's local news covers this ongoing transformation, from the growth of offshore wind manufacturing and the chemicals industry to new digital and service-sector investment. The channel's bulletins also follow the fortunes of Middlesbrough FC, community life in the area's towns and the cultural developments reshaping the region's image.

How to watch

Teesside TV is available on Freeview channel 7 in the Middlesbrough and Teesside area, broadcasting from the Bilsdale transmitter 24 hours a day with local news and networked entertainment programming. The channel is also expected on the Freely TV streaming platform from 2026.

Programme information is available through Freeview listings and the Local TV website at uklocal.tv. Local news and updates for the Teesside area are published through the channel's broadcasts and online channels.