CHANNEL M

'Channel M' is a television station which is based in Manchester. Originally named 'Manchester Student Television', the channel's output is specifically designed for Greater Manchester. It began broadcasting on 14 February 2000.
The main sources of content used to be CHUM, Euronews, Channel M's In-House Productions and the University of Salford. However, recently there has been considerable investment and the development of a raft of own developed content, focusing on news, music, lifestyle and sport across Greater Manchester.
"Channel M" is now owned by GMG hence the investment and increase in content.

Contents

Coverage

Channel M News

Original Programming

Advertising

The Future

Presenters and Reporters

Manchester Media

Programmes

See also

External links

Coverage

As an RSL station Channel M was primarily available free to air in a small area of Greater Manchester. In 2004 Channel M launched on the NTL platform (now part of Virgin Media), but the biggest increase in viewership was when the channel launched on the Sky Digital Satellite platform in April 2006. When the channel launched on Sky it was the first RSL channel to broadcast on satellite. This gave the television station UK-wide coverage on the BSkyB service.
The channel can be received on channel 39 (615 MHz) in some western and southern areas of the city, on Virgin Media Channel 878 around Greater Manchester, Mid-Lancashire and Cheshire also nationwide on Sky Channel 203. The service is not yet available on Freeview.
The channel also become the first broadcaster in the region to offer its programmes on demand via broadband TV on its award winning website. [1]

Channel M News

The main focus for Channel M is its news and current affairs programming. The weekday evening news service 'Channel M News Live' is filmed at 5pm and is repeated in half-hour bulletins from 5.30-7pm as 'Channel M News'. In 2006 'Channel M News at Nine' was launched and broadcasts from 9-10pm, providing a more in-depth look at the city's news stories.
Channel M News is anchored by Jess Dunsdon and Andy Crane (at 5pm and 9 O'Clock). Manchester Evening News columnist, 'Channel M Breakfast' and 'City Life' Anchor Byron Evans also featured regularly as a Channel M News presenter until he became anchor of the breakfast programme. Heather Stott, who is a presenter on BBC Radio Manchester, anchored the 9pm programme from its launch in summer 2006 but left in June 2007.
'Channel M Breakfast' broadcasts from 0600-0900 every morning. Byron Evans, Steph Elmore & Nina Warhurst are the programme's anchors. Along with guests, entertainment and sport specialists are present on the sofa. The News headlines are read by a news reporter rotating every six weeks and the 15 minute Traffic, Travel and Weather updates are usually read by Michelle Totton. When the show started on Monday 16th April 2007 it replaced the Euronews feed which broadcast on Channel M in the same timeslot. Euronews now broadcasts on Channel M from 0300-0600.
Channel M News bulletins are filmed at the Channel M News studio located in the Urbis museum in Manchester City Centre. Until August 2005 the news service was broadcast from The Printworks entertainment complex which is nearby. Due to a week-long exhibition at the Urbis building in January 2007, Channel M News was filmed from the Newsroom of the Guardian Media Group's 'MEN Media' Building in Spinningfields, Manchester, where some of the news-gathering operations are based.

Original Programming

The channel's biggest successes can be seen as comedy talk-show 'Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show' and its particularly strong music coverage; hardly surprising given the city's musical heritage. With these shows, the channel is starting to attract a lot of interest nationally. Something else which is attracting national interest is , the channel's computer and video game programme presented by 'Gerry McLaughlin'.
Sport programming such as 'Code XIII', 'Talking Sharks', 'FC United-The Fans' Club', 'Seconds Out' and 'Inside MCFC' broadcast news and content from Greater Manchester's sporting teams.
Music and entertainment programming is broadcast at the 8pm slot and through the daytime schedule. 'City Life', 'The Great Northern Music Show', 'Style In The City' and 'City Centre Social' feature celebrity interviews; music, food and fashion news from around Manchester.
At 4pm and intervals throughout the day 'Manchester Music' is broadcast, which completely replaces the CHUM Television's North American music output on the channel. This slot usually broadcasts music from the alternative and indie genres.
Travel-Style Magazine 'I Love Manchester' is an hour-long review, showcasing an area of Manchester in each episode. The programme explores entertainment, fashion, food and a hidden side to parts of city. The programme has run for two series and is presented by Breakfast anchor Steph Elmore, with a 3rd series currently in development.
In terms of broadcast awards, 'Hitting Home' and 'Reel North' have received multiple nominations from the Royal Television Society since 2001, respectively winning Best Regional Current Affairs Programme in 2005 and Best Regional Programme in 2006.

Advertising

Channel M's extremely localised audience, is unusual for a British television channel. This promotes an opportunity for local advertising, because of this the majority of the commercials are produced by local companies attempting to attract this Greater Manchester audience. Large companies like Ikea and DFS have also advertised on Channel M, the former during the opening of Greater Manchester's first Ikea store in Ashton-Under-Lyne. Channel M also offers organisations an opportunity to create a television advertisement, as the channel also films, edits and produces advertisements.

The Future

Former ITV Granada presenter Anthony Wilson was due to present a new Friday evening entertainment show in the near future show called 'The New Friday', produced by former Granada producer Eamonn O'Neill. However, this programme was postponed because Wilson died when recovering from surgery. He died on Friday 10th August 2007.
This meant that despite being one of Channel M's key on-air talent, Wilson never presented a programme for the station.

Presenters and Reporters

★ Andy Crane - Chief news anchorman

★ Jess Dunsdon - News anchorwoman

★ Eamonn O' Neal - Stand-in News anchorman

★ Byron Evans - Breakfast anchorman/former Entertainment specialist + producer and stand-in anchorman for ''Channel M News''/former presenter, ''City Life''

★ Steph Elmore - Breakfast anchorwoman/presenter, ''I Love Manchester''

★ Gerry McLaughlin - Presenter, ''City Centre Social'' + ''Reloaded''

★ Frank Sidebottom - Presenter/Writer, ''Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show''

★ Nina Warhurst - Breakfast anchorwoman/news reporter

★ David Henry - News reporter

★ Ben Bland - News reporter

★ Clare Fallon - News stand-in anchorwoman, programme editor, news reporter

★ Beverley Walkden - News reporter and stand-in anchorwoman

★ Richard Butt - News reporter and programme editor

★ Georja Calvin-Smith - News reporter/Breakfast newsreader

★ Paul Barber - News reporter/Breakfast newsreader

★ Michelle Totton - Breakfast travel/weather presenter

★ Suzanne Beeley - News reporter

★ Sangeeta Bhamra - News reporter

★ Nikki Dean - Entertainment specialist

★ Becky Want - Presenter, ''Homesearch''/former Health and Consumer specialist and former stand-in anchorwoman for ''Channel M News''

★ Sian Astley

★ Jemma Gofton - Presenter, ''Style in the City''

★ Robert Hodson - Entertainment specialist + producer/presenter, ''City Life''

★ Kevin Duffy - News editor/Chief reporter

★ Mike Bradley - Sports editor/Presenter, ''Talking Sharks''

★ Amelia Harris - Sports specialist

★ Matt Critchley - Sports specialist/stand-in News anchorman

Manchester Media

Channel M's recent success can be rooted to it's links to the Guardian Media Group which is based at offices in the Spinningfields district of Manchester. Over the past two years GMG spent large amounts publicising Channel M in a billboard, taxiwrap-around, adhsel and newspaper campaign. As Channel M is owned by GMG it has access to stories from The Guardian and The Observer National Newspapers, The Manchester Evening News, Greater Manchester's Local Weekly Freesheets and GMG radio including Smooth Radio and Century FM both with stations serving the north west. This access is obviously advantageous to a relatively new television channel, it means that cross-reference advertising can be done for free and that newsgathering operation can be shared.
Other broadcasting headquarters in Manchester include ITV Franchisee Granada Television which is located on Quay Street and BBC's Northern England hub on Oxford Road where North West Tonight and BBC Radio Manchester are recorded. Piccadilly Radio 261's offspring Key 103 and Magic 1152 broadcast from Castlefield.
In 2005, the channel won the "Best Newcomer" award at the Royal Television Society Awards.

Programmes

News and current affairs

★ Channel M News

★ Channel M News Review - weekend compilation of the week's highlights

★ Euronews - overnight simulcast

★ Gloves Off - studio debate programme, recently renamed Manchester Exchange

★ Hitting Home - award-winning documentary series
Entertainment

★ Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show

★ City Life

★ Manchester Unlimited (no longer broadcast)

★ I Love Manchester

★ Style In The City

★ The Run

★ Fashion Face Off

★ Reel North - award-winning short film programme

★ Zeitgeist – arts magazine programme
Sport

★ Code XIII - rugby league with a focus on Salford City Reds

★ Code XIII: Grassroots - spin-off series

★ FC United

★ Inside MCFC - Manchester City

★ Sports Central - general sports magazine

★ Talking Sharks - rugby union with a focus on Sale Sharks

★ The Biker Show - motorbike sport with a focus on Speedway

★ The Lancashire Cricket Show - Lancashire County Cricket Club

★ The Latics Football Show - Wigan Athletic
Music

★ City Centre Social

★ The Great Northern Music Show

★ Manchester Music

★ M:usic Live (no longer broadcast)

★ 4 Manchester (no longer broadcast)
Miscellaneous

★ Channel M Breakfast

★

★ Community Focus - filler programme

★ Homesearch

★ Jobsearch
Imported programmes from CHUM TV include:

★ Star at The Movies

★ Arts and Minds

★ In Fashion

★ Best! Movies! Ever!

★ Egos and Icons (no longer broadcast)

★ Much Music (no longer broadcast)

★ Much in Your Space (no longer broadcast)

★ Fashion Television (no longer broadcast)

See also

★ List of British television channels

External links

★ Channel M official site

★ Channel M blog site

★ Channel M @ The University of Salford - Information on university programming.

★ History of the Channel - Independent website

★ Channel M - TV Listings and Schedules