Channel M

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This article is about the British television channel. For the television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, see CHNM.

Channel m

Launched	14 February 2000
Owned by	Guardian Media Group
Country	United Kingdom
Formerly called	Manchester Student Television
Website	www.channelm.co.uk
Availability
Terrestrial
UK Analogue	UHF Channel 39 (Manchester only)
Satellite
Sky Digital	Channel 203
Eurobird 1	11527V 27500 2/3 Service ID: 50315
Cable
Virgin Media	Channel 878 (Greater Manchester only)
Internet Television
Channel M Online	Watch online

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.

Originally, the main sources of programming were CHUM, Euronews, Channel M's own productions and the University of Salford. However, since the station was launched on digital satellite services in April 2006, Channel M has invested and developed of a raft of in-house programming, focusing on news, music, lifestyle and sport.

Channel M is owned and operated by the Guardian Media Group, which in addition to its national newspapers, remains a major player in local media in Manchester, owning The Manchester Evening News, several local newspapers and the Smooth and Century radio stations serving the North West of England.

1 Coverage
2 Channel M News
3 Original Programming
4 Advertising
5 The Future
6 Presenters and Reporters
7 Manchester Media
8 Programmes
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Coverage

As an RSL station Channel M was primarily available free to air on terrestrial in parts of Greater Manchester. In 2004 Channel M launched on the NTL platform (now part of Virgin Media), but the highest 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 be broadcast on satellite. This gave the station UK-wide coverage on the BSkyB service, as well as availability to broadcast across Western Europe on Astra 28.2 degrees East.

The channel can be received on analogue television, on channel 39 (615 MHz) in some western and southern areas of the service area, on Virgin Media Channel 878 around Greater Manchester, Mid-Lancashire and Cheshire and nationwide on Sky channel 203. The service is not 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]

[edit] Channel M News

The flagship output of Channel M is its regional news service which covers stories from the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. The bulletins are produced at the station's studios located in the Urbis museum in Manchester City Centre. Inclusive of the Breakfast programme, Channel M News produces 28 hours of programming per week - more than any other local/regional TV news service in the United Kingdom.

Channel M News Live is broadcast between 1700-1900 and presented by Andy Crane and Jess Dunsdon. Before the two-hour service began on 17th September 2007, a half-hour programme was broadcast live at 1700 and repeated half-hourly until 1900 usually with Andy Crane as the sole presenter. Claire Fallon and MEN columnist Byron Evans featured regularly as Channel M News presenters until becoming Channel M Breakfast presenters.

Channel M News at Nine is broadcast live between 2100-2130 and repeated again at 2130-2200. The programme was launched in summer 2006 and was originally broadcast from 2100-2200, since 17th September 2007 this programme was shortened to half of its original length but repeated at 2130. Alongside Andy Crane, this programme was anchored by BBC Radio Manchester presenter Heather Stott until she returned to BBC North West Tonight to present the weather.

Channel M Breakfast broadcasts from 0600-0900 every morning. Bryon Evans, Nikki Dean & Nina Warhurst are the programme's anchors and joined by special guests, entertainment and sport editors throughout the morning. The news headlines are normally read by Clare Fallon (also a News programme editor) and the traffic, travel and weather updates are usually read by Michelle Totton (also known as "Totty"). When the show began on Monday 16th April 2007, it replaced a Euronews, which broadcast on Channel M in the same timeslot. Euronews now broadcasts on Channel M from 0300-0600.

Channel M News Review is also produced by the news team. The programme consists of a half-hour overview from important stories from news pieces recorded throughout the previous week. The programme is usually transmitted at the weekend and is the only Channel M News programme to not be broadcast live but like the other news programmes is usually presented by main anchors Andy Crane or Jess Dunsdon. Currently no live news broadcasts are produced on Saturday or Sunday.

On 10th April 2008, Channel M News produced its first live outisde broadcast from the funeral of GMP chief constable, Michael Todd.

Until August 2005, the news service was broadcast from The Printworks entertainment complex. Due to a week-long exhibition at the Urbis building in January 2007, Channel M News was broadcast from the newsroom of the Guardian Media Group's Headquarters in Spinningfields, Manchester, where part of Channel M's newsgathering operations shares office space with the Manchester Evening News.

[edit] Original Programming

The channel's biggest audiences are for its news bulletins and sports programmes. It is also renowned for its entertainment output such as comedy talk-show Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show and music coverage. Programming such as the thrice-weekly entertainment show City Centre Social and video/computer game review series Re:Loaded has helped Channel M to gain interest nationally.^{[citation needed]}.

Sport programming such as Code XIII, Talking Sharks, FC United-The Fans' Club, The Phoenix Ice Hockey Show, Seconds Out and Inside MCFC broadcast news, highlights and features from Greater Manchester's sporting teams.

Entertainment programming is broadcast at the 8pm slot and throughout the daytime schedule. These programmes often feature celebrity interviews, music, culture, food and fashion news from around Manchester. Cookin' Impossible is a tongue-in-cheek cookery show in which Channel M presenter Gerry McLaughlin is set a culinary task and has to fulfil it. Style In The City is presented by Jemma Gofton and features the latest trends, hidden fahsion boutiques and fashion events in and around Manchester. Other programmes include Fashion Face Off (a style-themed game show) and City Life (a weekly magazine show, first broadcast on Friday nights).

The Great Northern Music Show,City Centre Social and Saturday Social are Channel M's main music programmes, often presented by Gerry McLaughlin. These programmes usually show live or unplugged sets from alternative and indie bands. At 4pm and intervals throughout the day Channel M Playlist and Made in Manchester are broadcast, which airs music videos, usually from the alternative and indie genres. Originally, CHUM Television's North American music output was shown during the day.

Travel-style magazine I Love Manchester is a half-hour feature series, showcasing an area of the Greater Manchester region in each episode. The programme explores entertainment, fashion, food and history of parts of the area. The programme has run for three series and is presented by former Breakfast anchor Steph Elmore, with a third series currently in development.

In terms of broadcast awards, University of Salford productions 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.

[edit] Advertising

Channel M's extremely localised audience is unusual for a British television channel. This has promoted an opportunity for local advertising on a Greater Manchester-wide scale.

The majority of the commercials shown on Channel M are produced by local companies attempting to attract this localised audience. One can recognise that many of these commercials are extremely low budget. 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. Many of these adverts are also shown on ITV1 in the Granada Television Region. Channel M offers businesses an opportunity to create a television advertisement, as the channel also films, edits and produces commercials.

[edit] The Future

Channel M's former dependence on imported programmes (mainly music and entertainment programming from Canadian CHUM) was down to the amount of original output created by Channel M with Canadian programming previously making up much of the station's schedule. With the increase of in-house production since its launch on Sky Digital, Channel M now broadcasts up to 21 hours a day of local programming. The Euronews breakfast slot was moved back to early morning due to the creation of Channel M Breakfast, resulting in a full 24-hour service.

Former BBC Radio Manchester host, Granada presenter and Factory Records boss Anthony Wilson was due to present a new Friday evening music and entertainment show called The New Friday, produced by former Granada producer and BBC Radio Manchester host Eamonn O'Neill. However, this programme was postponed after Wilson became terminally ill with cancer. Wilson died on Friday 10th August 2007 and the plans for New Friday were soon abandoned. Since then, City Centre Social was moved from Mondays-Wednesdays to Wednesdays-Fridays, together with a shift to more live music programming on Channel M.

[edit] 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 - Former Breakfast anchorwoman and current presenter, I Love Manchester
Gerry McLaughlin - Presenter, City Centre Social + Reloaded + "Cookin' Impossible"
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 - Breakfast newsreader, 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
Michelle Totton - Breakfast travel/weather presenter
Nikki Dean - Breakfast anchor and former entertainment specialist
Sian Astley - Presenter Homesearch; Interiors specialist and property developer; www.sianastley.com
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

[edit] Manchester Media

GMG, which is based at offices in the Spinningfields district of Manchester, owns and operates Channel M. Over the past two years, the company has invested greatly in publicising Channel M in a billboard, taxi wrap-around, adshel and newspaper campaign. Channel M's news reporters liaise with journalists at GMG's The Manchester Evening News, MEN Media's local weekly newspapers and GMG's Greater Manchester-based radio stations Smooth Radio and Century FM. This access is advantageous to the station - it means that cross-reference advertising can be done for free and that newsgathering operations can be shared. An example of this cross referencing is that on the cover of the MEN every day where a reference is made to a news feature or programme on Channel M that evening.

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 based. 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.

[edit] Programmes

News and current affairs

Channel M News Live
Channel M News at Nine
Channel M Breakfast
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
City Life Comedian of the Year
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
Cookin' Impossible

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
The Phoenix Ice Hockey Show - Manchester Phoenix
Manchester Fight Night - monthly highlights of boxing events in the North West of England
The City Legends Debate Show
The United Legends Debate Show