Greater Manchester's Channel M cuts staff to four

Channel M will not broadcast its evening magazine show

A television station in Greater Manchester is to close down its news shows - reducing its staff from 33 to just four employees.

From Friday, Channel M will only broadcast a mixture of traffic, networked news and archive material.

Owners, the Guardian Media Group (GMG) has been trying to sell it since selling the Manchester Evening News (MEN) to Trinity Mirror in February.

GMG said the failure to sell and costs had led to the decision.

A GMG spokesman said: "We have informed staff that, despite interest from a number of parties, a viable offer for the station has not emerged.

'Technical level'

"Following the review of Channel M, we have reached the conclusion that the station is no longer sustainable in its current form.

"This is due to a number of factors, including the absence of a committed buyer, the loss of access to news from MEN Media, and the costs associated with the requirement to leave the Urbis building."

Trinity Mirror bought the MEN as part of a £44.8m deal with GMG, but a deal was not made for Channel M.

The 10-year-old news channel will cease to broadcast its evening magazine show Channel M Today and any other original news features.

The four remaining staff will continue to operate the channel but only on a technical level.

The GMG spokesman said the company was in consultation with those affected.

He also said Channel M's arrangement with the University of Salford, which provides 24 hours of content each year, will continue.