The Department for Culture, Media and Sport invited expressions of interest from organisations interested in providing a new network channel in January 2011. It received more than 20 submissions by the closing date at the start of this month.
The Channel 6 bid would broadcast a high quality 24-hour national channel, with the programme budget of Channel 5, which local TV franchises could opt out of, according to the amount of news and content their area can deliver.
Horwood, chief executive of Channel 6, said it would make sense for Channel 6 to work with an "established" sales house because the TV ad market is "dominated by a few key broadcasters. However, he said: "Which one is not only a commercial decision, but also a strategic one."
Channel 6 proposes to work with regional publishers to produce its local content and would allow them to keep local ad revenue in return for helping the local TV station, which will be either a franchise or owned by Channel 6.
Horwood thinks Channel 6 will "revolutionise TV media buying". He said: "Our model brings for the first time a unique combined national and local platform plus, through our partnerships with other local media, the opportunity for genuinely integrated multimedia local campaigns."
Should the bid be successful Horwood expects Channel 6 will use the recent changes in the broadcasting code to offer editorially linked sponsorship and paid-for product placement to national and, especially, local advertisers.
Other bidders in the running for the national network include SixTelevision, a consortium of local radio groups led by UKRD, and The Local Television Network, led by former BBC director general Greg Dyke.
A spokesman for the DCMS said it is in the process of examining the submissions received and expects to publish details in due course. The process to invite formal bids for the channel is expected to begin in the summer.
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