NWTV was founded in 2000 and is Britain's first "free-to-view" internet television station. We were almost Europe's first, but were beaten by a month by Canal Web, a French media company. Canal simply took an ordinary television station and streamed it over the internet: if you wanted to watch a program you had to consult the schedule and if the programme was on at 10.35 and you tuned in at 10.45 tough luck. You had missed it.
Right from the start NWTV set out to harness the power of the web by making our films short and available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Two points: [1] Canal Web struggled along for about nine months, then in a desperate attempt to remain solvent turned to broadcasting porn, and finally the parent company pulled the plug. We're still here. [2] It's a pity we didn't think to patent the idea or by now we'd be millionaires, like Amazon with its one-click shopping. As it was, it seemed so obvious to us, though it took other companies a while to get the idea. Now, of course, everyone does it, even the BBC.
NWTV has always aimed at presenting family-friendly programmes, so no porn and the editorial team checks everything that goes on our site. That is why we haven't opened our site like YouTube, though we are always open to films that fit in with our format and ethos. If you would like to put a film on our site, please contact us.
NWTV is based in north Wales and has a staff of three. Most of the stuff you see (as opposed to all the behind-the-scenes stuff) is down to Ken Down, our resident history buff.