04/12/2008

The owners of stv are calling on the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, to reject any suggestions that all channel 3 licenses be brought under single ownership.

stv group plc - which owns the channel three licences for stv central and stv north, and like UTV and Channel TV is not part of ITV plc - is making the appeal today as part of a continuing review, by Ofcom, of public service broadcasting (PSB).

A single, UK-wide channel 3 licence is something that Ofcom has suggested as a possible option for the future and has the backing of ITV plc.

The submission is being made ahead of a debate on broadcasting in Scotland, taking place at the Scottish Parliament today.

Says stv in its PSB submission:

"1. stv rejects the notion of a single UK-wide Channel 3 licence and believes the interests of Scotland, and of the Nations and Regions of the UK, are best served by the retention of the Channel 3 network with dedicated licences providing strong relevant content for regional audiences. The current model is not broken; it simply needs modernising;
 
"2. stv rejects ITV plc’s assertion that it ‘subsidises’ stv and UTV by £25m per year and has included an independent report from Ingenious Consulting Network showing the total value to ITV plc of being part of the federal network as £227m. The main elements of this are ITV’s ability to use ITV1 content on its digital channels at virtually no cost and to promote ITV2, 3 & 4 and itv.com on ITV1. Both these aspects are valued in excess of £100m per year. stv and UTV contribute £28m to £31m per annum directly to ITV plc through the ITV network;
 
"3. stv is calling for continued access to the ITV Network so that Scottish viewers can benefit from the pooled resources of the federal structure of the Channel 3 Network;
 
"4. stv will continue to provide high quality news and current affairs in the short to medium term and seeks a small level of funding to enable this important contribution to plurality to continue to be strengthened in the longer term;
 
"5. stv seeks flexibility in non-news provision to deliver quality programming and take greater control of its schedule, and is committed to increasing its non news programming in 2009;
 
"6. stv seeks Independent Status for its production business, recognising it has no influence over ITV commissioning and making it easier for other networks, particularly BBC and Channel 4 to commission stv;

"7. stv is committed to building a digital Scotland, and the development of digital platforms offering new, more localised content.
 
"8. stv welcomes, in principle, the report of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission and is committed to playing a central role in any new digital channel for Scotland; however, this aspiration should be incremental and the immediate priority must be to secure Scottish content on stv’s existing Channel 3 licences."

stv employs 375 permanent employees directly and 500 freelancers indirectly. 

Says stv's chief executive, Rob Woodward: “The needs of the nations are different to those of the English regions. stv is at the core of a strong creative industry in Scotland. As a successful broadcaster, we reach the homes of around four million people every week, feeding their appetite for great TV programmes; and as a business we know we contribute enormously to the creative economy of Scotland. 

"stv has the legacy, strong brand and market positioning to be well placed to continue to deliver creative and accessible PSB in a digital age. The current Network model is not broken; it simply needs modernising for the digital age.”
 
Adds Bobby Hain, director of broadcast services and regulatory affairs at stv: “There is no doubt that this is a critical time for stv and for broadcasting in Scotland. A solution must be found, and to ensure that viewers are served high quality programming and a plurality of television services, a strong stv must be at the heart of that solution.”

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