That's Solent

About That's Solent

Overview

That's Solent is the local television service for the Solent area of southern England, covering Southampton, Portsmouth and the surrounding region around Southampton Water. Broadcasting on Freeview channel 7 from the Rowridge transmitting station on the Isle of Wight, it is one of the longest-established local TV stations in the UK, licensed by Ofcom in 2012. Operated by That's TV as part of its network of local stations, it provides local news and programming for the Solent area within the network's schedules of classic entertainment and music.

The channel's studios are based in Cosham, Portsmouth, and its history stretches back to the earliest days of the UK's local television rollout. It was among the first batch of local TV licences awarded and has been broadcasting to the Solent region for over a decade, through changing ownership and programming models.

Licence award and high-profile launch

That's Solent Limited was licensed by Ofcom in 2012 after a competitive bidding process for the Southampton local TV licence. The company is owned by SIX TV Ltd, trading as That's TV, with That's Media Ltd as the ultimate parent company. The licence award was part of the first wave of local TV licences intended to create local television across the UK.

The launch attracted national attention through the involvement of well-known television personalities. Esther Rantzen, the presenter and Childline founder, was announced as the host of the signature show That's Solent on Sunday and as vice president of programming, while Alan Titchmarsh was also associated with the channel's launch programming. The channel promised five ultra-local news bulletins and coverage reaching Eastleigh, Fareham, Winchester and parts of the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth as well as Southampton itself.

Early years and news operation

In its early years That's Solent operated a substantial local news operation, with the flagship programme Solent Headline News airing on weekday evenings and the talk show Talk Solent featuring discussion of local news and stories making the headlines. The channel was backed by the regional newspaper groups Newsquest and Johnston Press, owners of the Southern Daily Echo and Portsmouth's The News respectively, which provided local news content for the channel.

The station's journalism drew attention beyond the region when a former employee revealed details of its operations, including the volume of stories it supplied to the BBC under the local TV content-sharing arrangements. The National Union of Journalists expressed concern about working conditions at the station, reflecting the pressures of sustaining local news on limited budgets.

Programming evolution

Over the years That's Solent's daytime programming has changed several times. In 2017 the channel simulcast Talking Pictures TV during the day, but following the expiry of that agreement at the end of the year it screened a mixture of public domain films and cartoons, and from February 2019 daytime hours were given over to simulcasts of home shopping channels.

The channel's current schedules follow the That's TV network model, combining local news opt-outs with the network's national output of classic British series, vintage entertainment and music videos. The local news continues to serve the Solent area within this framework.

The That's TV network

That's Solent was one of the founding stations of the That's TV network, which has grown into the UK's largest local television operator with stations across England, Scotland and Wales. The group expanded by acquiring stations from operators leaving the sector, and its centralised model now dominates local television.

The network's national channel, available on Freeview channel 56 outside the local areas, carries the classic entertainment output that fills the local stations' schedules around their news bulletins. That's Solent's local service appears on Freeview channel 7 in the Southampton and Portsmouth area.

Coverage area

The station serves the area around the Solent and Southampton Water, broadcast from the Rowridge transmitter on the Isle of Wight. Its coverage takes in the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, the towns of the surrounding area and parts of the Isle of Wight, a densely populated coastal region with a strong maritime identity.

The Solent area's stories range from the ports and cruise industry to the universities, the naval heritage of Portsmouth and the New Forest. The local television service addresses this region's news and community life, distinct from the wider regional output of the national broadcasters.

Reception and availability

That's Solent broadcasts on Freeview channel 7 in its coverage area and has also been available through the Wightfibre network serving the Isle of Wight. Its studios in Cosham, Portsmouth, place its production in the heart of its coverage area.

As one of the first local TV stations to launch, the channel has been part of the local television landscape for over a decade, adapting through the sector's changes from ambitious standalone local schedules to the networked model.

The founding stations

That's Solent was one of the founding stations of the That's TV network. The company was awarded the Oxfordshire local TV licence by Ofcom in September 2012, and won the Southampton and Portsmouth licence two months later, in conjunction with the newspaper publishers Newsquest and Johnston Press. The Solent service began broadcasting on 26 November 2014, making it one of the earliest local channels to launch under the national local TV framework and the network's first coastal station.

The backing of Newsquest, owner of the Southern Daily Echo, and Johnston Press, owner of Portsmouth's The News, gave the station strong newspaper roots in its early years, with the publishers providing local news content for the channel. The high-profile launch featured the presenter and Childline founder Esther Rantzen as the host of the Sunday programme and as vice president of programming, a appointment that attracted national attention to the new service.

Newsroom pressures

The station's journalism drew attention beyond the region when a former employee revealed details of its operations, including the volume of stories it supplied to the BBC under the local TV content-sharing arrangements. The National Union of Journalists expressed concern about working conditions at the station, highlighting the pressures of sustaining a local news operation on the limited budgets available to local television.

These pressures reflected the wider economics of the sector. Under the government's local TV scheme, the BBC provided funding support to participating stations for up to three years from their launch, with the right to use stories broadcast by those channels. This created an incentive for high story volumes, and the end of that funding forced stations to reshape their news operations. That's Solent's evolution from its ambitious early schedules toward the networked model mirrored the experience of local television across the country.

The Solent's maritime identity

The Solent area's identity is inseparable from the sea. Southampton is one of the United Kingdom's principal cruise and container ports, Portsmouth is home to the Royal Navy's historic dockyard and the great harbour, and the Isle of Wight draws visitors to its beaches, sailing waters and seaside towns. The region's economy and culture have been shaped by maritime industries for centuries, from shipbuilding to the modern cruise business.

The local television service covers this coastal region's news and community life, from developments on the waterfronts and the ports to the two cities' universities, the naval heritage that defines Portsmouth and the life of the island communities. Its studios in Cosham, Portsmouth, place its production in the heart of this densely populated coastal conurbation, distinct from the wider regional output of the national broadcasters.

How to watch

That's Solent is available on Freeview channel 7 in the Southampton, Portsmouth and Solent 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 the Solent area is available through the channel's broadcasts and through the That's TV website at thats.tv, which carries regional sections for the station's coverage area.