STV has recorded its highest profit in more than a decade at £22.6 million to the end of December – a rise of 13% – and the broadcaster said it had overtaken BBC One as the most-watched channel in Scotland for the first time since 2013.
STV maintained its all-time viewing share at 17.7%, three points up on the ITV network, and said it delivered 98% of commercial audiences over 500,000 in Scotland.
Although national advertising was down 4% year-on-year, local advertising helped STV reach a total advertising revenue of £101.6m, a rise of 2%. Online viewing rose by 23%, with total registrations for the STV player up 17% at 3.5m, which the company said represented 80% of Scottish adults.
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STV Productions narrowed its losses to £100,000 from £700,000 and said it was on course to make a profit this year. The unit’s biggest recommissions were for Antiques Road Trip for the BBC and the new Clear Out, Cash In for Discovery’s Reality channel.
For the first time in a decade, STV Productions returned to the drama market with The Victim and Elizabeth is Missing for BBC One.
Chief executive officer Simon Pitts said he was delighted that STV had delivered its best on-screen viewing performance in over a decade.
He told The National: “A 13% profit increase in a tough market proved that we are doing a lot of the right things.
“We’ve also seen a real acceleration in online viewing with our digital stream and advertising both up 37% thanks to the STV Player.
“That is really allowing us to buck the trend a bit in advertising, because our local Scottish advertising is also up 11% thanks to our successful STV growth fund we launched around 18 months ago.
“In productions, I really think we are starting to make world-class TV shows at STV and that includes two highly-acclaimed new dramas last year – The Victim and Elizabeth is Missing, both made in Scotland and we’ve got another 50-plus shows in development.”
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He said STV had a strong start to the year on-screen and online, and added: “There’s more to come but we are still feeling pretty upbeat about 2020 and beyond.”
Pitts said uncertainty over Brexit and coronavirus had resulted in challenges which affected everyone, but he wanted to keep STV’s focus on what it could control.
“People are rightly concerned and it’s our job at time like these to keep our viewers informed and connected with the latest information … we get half a million people watching our news, 558,000 – a record night last night for the most popular news programme in Scotland.”
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