PA to supply video for local TV trial

The Press Association has agreed a deal with the BBC to supply video footage to the BBC local TV pilot in the West Midlands.

The
Press Association’s Birmingham bureau will supply relevant local
stories in video throughout the day, seven days a week. Footage will
include news, sport and entertainment, and will be used by the BBC,
alongside its own content, to produce 10-minute local news bulletins
available on digital, satellite and broadband.

All footage
gathered by the Press Association as part of the deal is nonexclusive,
allowing it to be used in bulletins for other PA customers.

The
BBC pilot will run for nine months in Birmingham; the Black Country;
Coventry and Warwickshire; Herefordshire and Worcestershire; Stoke and
Staffordshire; and Shropshire. The BBC hopes to introduce about 60
similar local services around the UK, if the development is approved by
the BBC governors.

Asha Oberoi, PA’s head of multimedia, said:
“This agreement is an important opportunity for the Press Association
as we believe the gathering of local video content will revolutionise
news services. By multiskilling our bureau we have been able to produce
additional layers of new content, and our intention is to develop this
model across all our bureaux within the UK.”