Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev's Evening Standard newspaper on Monday won a license to operate a new TV channel in London.
The Evening Standard beat four other applicants in a competition that will allow its TV channel to gain access to 4 million homes in London — the highest number among TV channels in the U.K., Interfax reported Tuesday.
While awarding the license, the British communications regulator Ofcom said Lebedev's application demonstrated "the greatest understanding of London's diverse communities by putting forward proposals which would allow representation of those communities whilst not excluding others as a result."
The channel will go live in September 2013 and will be free for audiences. Regulators said that it would operate under the London Live brand.
London Live will rely on content from the Evening Standard and Independent, another family owned newspaper.
Alexander Lebedev, who made a fortune in banking in Russia, bought the Evening Standard in 2009.
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