Ofcom has confirmed there will be no further advertisements for local TV licences.
Following a consultation earlier this year, the UK regulator says it will not advertise or re-advertise local TV licences for 13 specific areas, or substitute areas, where no licence has been awarded to date.
It believes that to further expand the network would have an adverse impact on the economic viability of the local TV sector.
In calling a halt to further expansion Comux will no longer be responsible for the further build out of the transmission infrastructure.
It was found that while local TV in 13 areas: Bangor, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, Stratford-upon-Avon, Barnstaple, Limavady, Derry-Londonderry, Inverness, Luton, Plymouth, Stoke on Trent, Gloucester, Forth Valley would have been viable, the economic case became unviable once transmission was added into the equation.
Local TV was the brainchild of former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt. The first stations were licensed by Ofcom in 2013, and there are now local TV services licensed to broadcast in 34 different locations across the UK.
