A TELEVISION station for Oxfordshire funded with public money should be investigated, say critics, after reportedly pulling in as few as 30 viewers a day.

That’s Oxfordshire was launched in 2015 as part of a local TV revolution spearheaded by then culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.

But low viewing figures, concerns about quality and the viability of the project have dogged it since its launch.

Ed Vaizey, Wantage MP and former culture minister under Mr Hunt, said there needs to be a ‘fundamental rethink’ about how stations like That's Oxfordshire work in the future.

Freelance TV presenter Mark Lipscomb, who worked for ITV for almost two decades, told the Oxford Mail that the channel – funded through licence fee payers' money - was 'insulting people's intelligence'.

He said: "There's one half hour news programme and it's repeated ad nauseam.

"It's about time the Secretary of State (Matt Hancock) investigated. I have made several complaints to Ofcom over the past three years over the production quality and other aspects of the channel."

A Government initiative, launched in 2011, requires the BBC to fund 30 new local stations which each need to fill a quota of 85 stories per month.

According to Buzzfeed News, the BBC pays That’s Oxfordshire £147.50 for every story it produces – whether they are used or not. If the quota of 85 was used each month, it would equate to £150,000 per year.

Buzzfeed said That's Oxfordshire is amongst the worst performing local channels in the country and said it pulls in as few as 30 viewers on average.

But That's TV, which runs That's Oxfordshire, said it has an audience of 'thousands of viewers' across the county every day.

Former Central News presenter Mr Lipscomb, who regularly works and stays in Oxford, said: "The lack of quality is beyond belief, they've been going for three years and it's not getting any better.

He added: "It's just insulting to people's intelligence.”

Mr Lipscomb said he had complained about the depiction of black people in a 1940s cartoon that was shown on the channel without any warning over its content and was waiting to hear about the complaint's outcome from Ofcom.

He also complained that an advert was aired which included a BT offer that had expired a year ago.

A journalist who formerly worked for That’s Oxfordshire but wanted to remain anonymous said: “That’s Oxfordshire was not very good as an employer but what that meant was there were opportunities to step up to the mark.”

They added: “They were paying minimum wage and given that you didn’t have time to work for one more than one employer, there’s a big question to answer whether you were technically a worker or were self-employed.”

In 2016, Ofcom launched an investigation into the channel, then known as That’s Oxford, and three other stations after the regulators received complaints from the public about what was being aired.

The regulator found that stations had a ‘significant number of technical problems’, ranging from sound failures, freezing and jumpy video and production credits appearing during programmes instead of the end. Ofcom put the stations on notice.

That’s Oxfordshire operated from Abingdon and Witney College until recently and is run as part of a network of local TV stations by Manchester-based That’s Television Ltd.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, former culture minister Mr Vaizey said: “I think there should be a fundamental rethink about how Government does local TV and what its purpose is and what success looks like.

“The fundamental point is: is it a sustainable model that is ever going to stand on its own two feet and is it going to get anything that you could call a significant audience? My answer is no.”

Mr Vaizey – who said he had ‘occasionally’ watched the channel – stressed the initiative was Mr Hunt’s idea.

He said: “It was landed on my desk by Jeremy Hunt. I never believed it would (go well), but it was Jeremy Hunt’s passion that he wanted to recreate a local television network similar to that in the US.

"In terms of ultra-local programming, there is no market for it."

A That's TV spokesman said: "We are pleased to deliver a news service which gains an audience of thousands of viewers in Oxfordshire every day. Alongside this, we broadcast a popular strand of classic films and television.

"We do not intentionally cause offence. We regret that, if Ofcom is investigating a specific complaint, then we are unable to comment publicly on that matter until Ofcom has completed its investigation.

"That’s TV operates 14 local TV services around the UK and has provided the opportunity to a large number of talented journalists to develop their careers. A number also work with other broadcasters and news providers."