Though the project has been developed by the publisher's North West and North Wales office, it is expected to serve as a test-bed for other regions in which Trinity Mirror operates, as the publisher seeks new sources of income to counteract the decline in regional newspaper ad revenues.
The division, Echo Outdoor, will produce a 20-minute TV package for Echo TV, a brand extension of the Liverpool Echo that will broadcast on 15-inch TV screens in 100 hackney taxi cabs.
The programming, to be updated monthly, will include celebrity interviews, sports features, a round-up of cultural events in Liverpool and features on local issues.
Overseen by Liverpool Echo editor Alistair Machray, with contributions from journalists and columnists on the newspaper, the broadcasts will be produced by TV company Red Hot Media.
Trinity Mirror estimates that the content will reach more than 435,000 adults per month when it is launched later this summer.
Echo Outdoor will sell ad spots and sponsorship packages for the programme and also plans to offer bespoke taxi liveries on up to 2,622 taxis in Merseyside and more than 45,000 cabs nationwide. Lee Dennis, recently hired from Emap, will lead a dedicated sales team.
Sarah Cotterill, marketing director for the region, said the new division was a natural extension of Trinity Mirror's growing multi-media operation, which already reaches an estimated eight in 10 adults in Merseyside, and would provide a way to promote a positive image of Liverpool, and the newspaper itself, to tourists.
Trinity Mirror announced last week that, in the first four months of 2007, regional ad revenues fell by 2.3%, with motoring classifieds the worst hit category, enduring a drop of 11.4%.
The company has also bought TotallyLegal.com, which runs recruitment sites TotallyLegal.com and TotallyFinancial.com, for £11.8m.
The group expects to complete the sale of its regional businesses in the Midlands and London and the South East, and the sports division, which includes the Racing Post, during the next five months.
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