Lanarkshire TV (LTV) was set up with a £2,000, four-year licence from the ITC and was the model for up to 60 other local television stations that were expected to start transmitting in subsequent years.
Ahead of its launch, managing director John MacKenzie told The Herald newspaper: "LTV will cover both local and national issues which directly or indirectly affect the people of Lanarkshire.
[citation needed] Broadcasting on Channel 67 on the ONdigital platform, it was on 24 hours a day, offering local news, chat shows and weather and travel bulletins.
The failure to pay any of its 32 staff since Christmas Eve 1999, prompted Shereen Tulloch, the breakfast show anchor, to leave suddenly.
Speaking to the Independent newspaper, one ITC staff member commented: "The problem is that the management was overambitious at the beginning, trying to broadcast from 8am till midnight, with 90 per cent of the output home produced.