Local TV will be fantastic for Britain

Mr Hunt accused critics of cynicism and said the proposed new stations would correct a "market failure" going back more than 50 years.

He said: "It probably dates back to 1955, when the then Conservative government set up ITV and chose to do so on a regional basis rather than on a more local basis.

"We have never really had market structures that have allowed local TV to work."

He claimed surveys by media watchdog Ofcom showed 70 per cent of people valued local TV news, with "a huge demand" for extra services.

Mr Hunt last week earmarked 65 towns and cities - including Aberdeen, Liverpool and Cardiff - for possible stations and said the running costs would be the same as those for a local newspaper.

He compared the UK local TV market to the American system, saying: "If you look at a city like New York, that has six local TV stations, or Birmingham, Alabama, which has eight local TV stations compared to our Birmingham, which has none, and you ask yourself, 'Why is it that those structures have meant there is local TV there and it hasn't worked here?'

"We have come up with a structure that does now bring down the cost base to make it viable in a way that hasn't happened before, and I think it will be fantastic."

He added: "Anywhere outside the London broadcasting establishment, you find tremendous excitement for this, because people know there is real hunger to have a better-quality news service for what is happening on their doorstep."

The towns and cities - chosen because they have appropriate transmitter coverage - will be whittled down to about 20 by the end of the year.