The decision follows reviews of the public service broadcasting licences for ITV, STV, UTV and Channel 5, requested by culture secretary, Maria Miller.
ITV had proposed shortening the local news quota within its public service remit after citing "significant economic pressure" in retaining such coverage in peak viewing time.
The broadcaster had the same request rejected in the North West.
The regulator did approve plans to reduce weekday regional news services by 10 minutes in all other regions.
Under the changes, ITV’s weekday regional news bulletins will reduce to 20 minutes but sit within 30-minute slots alongside some non local news content. ITV will also create a more localised system with the formation of 14 news regions, as opposed to the current eight.
Ofcom said that, in most regions, the benefits to viewers of a more localised news service will more than offset the reduction in the amount of regional news that ITV is required to provide under its licences.
However, in London and the North West, the populations are considered to be large enough for several local news services to co-exist.
In Ofcom’s report to the Secretary of State in June 2012, it noted that 79% of TV viewers regarded plurality in news coverage in the regions as an important aspect of public service provision.
The decision to ringfence ITV’s local news coverage in London could yet be viewed as a contentious move if the Evening Standard struggles to find a large enough audience for its unprecedented .
The new local TV service is the brainchild of former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, and has been rolled out despite strong criticism that most local markets are not large enough to sustain a dedicated local news service.
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