Shmu to launch Community TV platform

Shmu will soon realise a long-held ambition of establishing a Community TV platform. 

The project will offer residents in our target communities a new opportunity to express themselves about issues that they feel passionately about, and share them through live TV broadcasts.

In March 2019, the £1.5m redevelopment of Station House Media Unit, with support from the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Fund, was completed. 

This fantastic new facility in the heart of the regeneration areas of Aberdeen includes a purpose-built TV Studio, which was included after a community consultation process that involved over 400 residents from our target communities.

Through the initial consultation period, many of the existing volunteers and community participants made it clear they would like to see a Community TV platform, and it is wonderful to see this plan come to fruition. 

We estimate that 120 residents, of all ages, will take part in the accredited training in the first two years of the platform, with roles including researching, writing, presenting, performing, filming, vision mixing and editing.. 

We anticipate that over 20 hours of live TV programming will be broadcast every week on the Community TV platform in the first year, rising to 30/40 hours per week in year two.   

Adding Community TV will also complement the work from our other services, such as community radio and magazines.

It will offer a wide range of benefits for individuals and communities, fostering a spirit of engagement and partnership working and allowing individuals to develop new skills in the craft of TV production.  

This exciting platform will also allow the organisation to reach out to new participants who have not engaged with shmu before.  

Funding for the Community TV has come from the Scottish Government's Investing in Communities Fund.