The London licence was awarded to ESTV Limited by Ofcom, the UK's media regulator, in 2013 after bids were invited for a number of areas in 2012.

London Live broadcasts from studios at Alphabeta House in Finsbury Square, which is also the headquarters of The Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, both owned by Lebedev Holdings.

Today is a sad day for me as it brings seven years to a close of sitting here and talking to you about the city that I love so much, but to make all of this happen, there's a brilliant team of people, many who have been here since the start.

It has also commissioned documentaries including Girl on Girl, Jail Birds, Half Man Standing, Teenage Kicks, Sizzle London, The Young Upstarts, Digital Nation, Roger & Robin's Night Club Tips, Ron & Ron, Fight Club London, No Place Like Home, Antisocial Network, and Beggar Off.

[citation needed] In November 2013, London Live announced its first prime-time commission:[10] F2 Kicks Off from UK indie Renowned Films,[11] hosted by the F2Freestylers duo Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch.

[14] London Live also broadcasts a range of comedy, drama, documentaries and entertainment programmes such as London Real, Absolute Power, Green Wing, Peep Show, Smack the Pony, Spaced, Trigger Happy TV, Twenty Twelve, Filthy Rich and Homeless, Soho Blues, The Tube, Snog Marry Avoid?, Vice Squad, Hale and Pace, Born Equal, Freefall, Harley Street, London's Burning, Misfits, Moses Jones, The Shadow Line, White Teeth, 10 Years Younger, and Cash in the Attic.

In July 2017, it was announced the channel would have an early morning line-up of children's programming from the libraries of Saban Brands and Studio 100 (such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–96, 2010 “Disney era” version) and Digimon.

In April 2020, the UK’s culture secretary Oliver Dowden called on the media regulator Ofcom to take action against London Live after it broadcast a 105-minute interview with the conspiracy theorist David Icke which contained allegations about the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[16][17] Ofcom later confirmed that the 80-minute interview broke broadcasting rules, stating that Icke “expressed views which had the potential to cause significant harm to viewers in London during the pandemic” and his “claims went largely unchallenged” being “made without the support of any scientific or other evidence”.