28 february 2015 2015 02 28 owned by big centre television broadcasting limited picture format 576i 16 9 sdtv audience share local tv macro network note 1 0.01 % september 2015 2015 09 barb country united kingdom language english broadcast area birmingham the black country wolverhampton solihull walsall headquarters the goldmine centre walsall website www.bigcentre.tv availability terrestrial freeview channel 7 cable virgin media channel 159 streaming media big centre tv online stream uk only big centre tv is a local television station based in walsall in the united kingdom . it serves birmingham the black country wolverhampton solihull and walsall . the station launched at 6pm on saturday 28 february 2015 on freeview channel 8 and broadcasts from studios based at the walsall studio school . contents 1 history 2 programming 2.1 archive programming 3 references 4 external links history edit kaleidoscope tv limited were granted a licence to establish a local television station in november 2014 following the collapse of city8 a proposed station centred on the birmingham area which went into administration after failing to secure sufficient funding . 1 2 kaleidoscope were given ten minutes notice that their bid had been successful before an official announcement was made by the regulatory body ofcom . 3 the new licence initially known as kaleidoscope tv was given an ofcom deadline of saturday 28 february 2015 to launch kaleidoscope tv to bring local television to birmingham the black country and solihull from 2015 initially big centre tv was jointly launched by chris perry and former atv announcer and television executive mike prince the station s director of programming . prince also serves as the station s chairman . big centre tv s studios at the goldmine centre in walsall are located alongside the town s studio school where students are able to gain work experience with the channel as part of their studies . 4 the station launched at 6pm on saturday 28 february 2015 preceded by a testcard and music ending with the electric light orchestra s mr. blue sky . opening night programming included an hour long introduction to the channel a special edition of the local news programme the midland a 1981 episode of crossroads and coverage of an ice hockey league match . these were aired alongside two of the station s feature programmes life stories and project m the first news bulletin attracted criticism from birmingham mail tv critic roz laws who noted that many of the reports concerned stories from several days before the channel s launch . 3 the news bulletin was also beset by technical problems with poor sound quality and an out of focus studio camera . the black country based express & star observed that the launch programme had been more corporate video than glitz and glamour consisting of the channel s executives sitting in front of their computers and discussing a business plan before the station was blessed by a clergyman . 5 responding to the criticism then channel director chris perry argued that big centre tv s teething problems were similar to those experienced by the larger channels and urged viewers to stay with the station . 5 in april 2015 the station announced that canadian media company trek 2000 had invested in big centre tv . 6 on 3 october 2016 made television who were unsuccessful in bidding to run the franchise in 2012 announced it had brought big centre for an undisclosed sum subject to approval from ofcom . 7 the station is due to be rebranded and relaunched as made in birmingham from tuesday 1 november 2016 . 8 programming edit big centre tv is required to produce 41 hours a week of first run local programming including news sport features entertainment and children s output . 9 2 the station s regional news programme big news airs five news programmes on weekdays alongside a review programme the big magazine at weekends . 10 sports coverage includes regular feature shows on football cricket and ice hockey teams and weekly programmes extra time and midland sports scrapbook . 10 11 the station s head of news is former itv central journalist bob hall . 11 local feature programming includes doorstep history amp d the big picture and life stories alongside a daily pre school children s strand the bostin bear club . archive programming edit during its first six months on air big centre tv also aired a selection of archive programming including the children s television series ivor the engine and terrahawks jack hargreaves rural documentary series out of town and the surviving episodes of midlands based soap opera crossroads . 10 11 the station also produced a number of nostalgia based entertainment shows including the david hamilton show the ads show crossroads check in tiswas pies again and the long lost shows show . as the channel went on air plans to repeat crossroads were at the centre of a disagreement over the amount of royalties to be paid to its former actors paul henry who played benny hawkins reportedly threatened to take legal action over the issue . 12 the station discontinued crossroads repeats in september 2015 and latterly phased out its kaleidoscope related archive output and nostalgia programming . the station currently airs a selection of imported and archive programming from other sources alongside its locally produced output . references edit notes audience data for local tv channels across england wales & n. ireland are measured and reported together as local tv macro network . sources birmingham local tv firm city tv in administration . bbc news . 8 august 2014 . retrieved 8 august 2014 . a b kaleidoscope the men who found our lost tv archives . bbc news . bbc . 7 september 2015 . retrieved 8 september 2015 . a b laws roz 28 february 2015 . big centre tv rushed repetitive and not exactly gripping . birmingham mail . trinity mirror . retrieved 1 march 2015 . walsall studio school big centre tv a b new west midlands tv channel experiencing learning curve argues boss . express & star . midland news association . 5 march 2015 . retrieved 8 march 2015 . knight dominic 29 april 2015 . international investment for west midlands tv channel big centre tv . atv today . retrieved 3 may 2015 . big centre tv acquired by rival network 18 months after launch birmingham mail 4 october 2016 made tv network acquires eighth tv station made television 3 october 2016 big centre tv set to go live in black country express & star 21 february 2015 a b c birmingham local channel big centre tv launches . bbc news . bbc . 28 february 2015 . retrieved 28 february 2015 . a b c cannon matt 15 february 2015 . big centre tv see the shows viewers can expect from new birmingham tv channel . birmingham mail . trinity mirror . retrieved 1 march 2015 . lockley mike 28 february 2015 . big centre tv launch marred by crossroads repeats row with stars including benny actor paul henry . the sunday mercury . trinity mirror . retrieved 1 march 2015 . 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