Television License

Milestone Group PLC 07 July 2003 For Immediate Release Monday 7th July 2003 MILESTONE GROUP PLC SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION FOR LOCAL TELEVISION LICENCE FOR READING Milestone Group PLC ('Milestone' or 'the Group'), the new cross-media group, announces its first successful license application, the 4 year local television licence ('the licence') for the Reading area, since the Group floated on the Alternative Investment Market earlier this month. The Independent Television Commission ('ITC') has awarded the licence to Reading Television Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, following the application which it submitted in January 2003. Milestone already operates the local television service for Oxford through its 91%-owned subsidiary Oxford Broadcasting Limited trading as SIX TV The Oxford Channel. The Group will announce in due course details of when the new licence, to be known as SIX TV Reading, will be launched. The Group anticipates that the licence will cover a significant part of the Reading area. Milestone's application proposed significant content and resource-sharing between the Oxford and Reading services. SIX TV Oxford has been broadcasting for four years and recently had its own licence renewed by the ITC. Local television licences (also known as Restricted Service Licences) allow their operators to provide a terrestrial free-to-air television service to a defined location for up to four years using spare analogue frequencies. Licences operate at lower power than the five national channels but can be received using conventional television sets without the need for additional cables or set-top-boxes. The award of the Reading licence will enable Milestone to pursue its cross media strategy in Reading where it already owns the Thames Valley Weekly, a free weekly classified listings magazine published by its wholly-owned subsidiary Courier Newspapers (Oxford) Limited. Milestone also has a 37% beneficial interest in the Independent Local Radio licence operated by the Reading Broadcasting Company Limited, trading as Reading 107 FM. Milestone Chief Executive Andrew Craig said: 'This is an important step in the development of Milestone's cross-media strategy with our television and publishing divisions working closely together in and around Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley region. It is our intention to establish a cost-effective advertising proposition for advertisers based in the Thames Valley across our television, teletext and publishing platforms. Together with the radio services we already control in West Berkshire (Newbury-based Kick FM) and Oxford (Passion 107.9) we are continuing to build a significant media presence in and around the Thames Valley, enabling us to provide a powerful advertising offering in what is one of the most affluent areas in the UK.' For further information: Milestone Group PLC Tel: 01635 202 700 Andrew Craig - Chief Executive Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000 Bobby Morse / Bobbie Swanson This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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