The pair launched their pitch to assembled TV execs and politicians at the Royal TV Society convention in Cambridge on Friday, promising a “cross-platform rolling news service” including channel 3 bulletins, newspapers, “localised websites” and web TV. Ten Alps co-founder and non-exec director Geldof let rip his trademark anger on Digital Britain’s chief architect Lord Carter for not suggesting a new consortium pilot for Northern Ireland: “No interpretation we’ve heard makes sense — from lack of funds for the province, to lack of credible alternative news suppliers. So we ask the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to give Belfast a tender process, and allow Northern Ireland to fully engage in a democratic process in the vitally important news sector.”

The pair must be front-runners to bag a Northern Ireland news provision contract (should one emerge) but it’s not that simple: the plan to replace ITV’s news provision with a patchwork of private companies is only theoretical and Digital Britain is still only a policy paper. The Conservative Party has already ruled out funding such consortia—for some reason, the Tories think the advertising market can sustain local TV news—and if they win next year’s General Election, as most pundits expect them too, the whole plan will inevitably be ditched.

Another company setting its sites on regionalised online publishing is Scotland’s STV which plans to launch 300 local news and listings sites across the country by the end of the year. CEO Rob Woodward tells Press Gazette: “Every significant town and the cities will have a dedicated STV Local website… It will be consumer led, providing listings from local restaurants to events but we will also have a news facility to inject very localised coverage.” Echoing Associated Northcliffe Digital’s inspiration behind its Local People news and listings sites, Woodward says the reason the company is investing in the project is “because we believe in the local advertising market”.