STV Group (Scotland)

For the American engineering firm, see STV Group (United States).

STV Group plc

Type	Public (LSE: STVG)
Industry	Media
Founded	1957 (as Scottish Television plc)
Headquarters	Glasgow, Scotland
Key people	Rob Woodward (CEO); Richard Findlay (Chairman)[1]
Products	Television, Internet
Revenue	£104.8 million (2010)[2]
Operating income	£14.4 million (2010)[2]
Profit	(£5.3 million) (2010)[2]
Employees	380 (core staff) 550 (freelance staff) (2010)[2]
Website	www.stvplc.tv

SMG's last logo before rebrand

STV Group plc is a Scottish media company. It is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. Originally formed as Scottish Television, it changed its name to Scottish Media Group in 1996 when it acquired Caledonian Publishing, owners of Glasgow-based newspapers The Herald and Evening Times (both of which have since been sold). It then went on to acquire the ITV licence holder for Northern Scotland, Grampian Television in 1997. In 1999 it launched a new Sunday broadsheet newspaper, the Sunday Herald. The company renamed itself again as "SMG plc" in 2000 by which time it had expanded further through the acquisitions of Primesight (outdoor advertising), Pearl & Dean (cinema advertising) and Ginger Media Group, which included Ginger Television and the UK radio station, Virgin Radio. In recent years^[when?] the group has contracted again, having sold the outdoor advertising, cinema advertising and radio businesses in order to reduce debt and concentrate on television.^[3][4]

On 24 June 2008, shortly after the sale of Virgin Radio, SMG plc announced another name change - this time to STV Group plc. The company says the name change is to highlight its renewed focus on television, encompassing the STV Central and STV North franchises and the company's production business.^[5] The new STV Group branding was introduced on 1 October 2008.^[6]

ITV plc held a 16.9% stake in the business, which was reduced to around 5.5% following a rights issue.

Television

STV

Main article: STV (TV network)

STV Group plc owns two Scottish ITV licences, Scottish Television, which covers Central Scotland, and Grampian Television, covering Northern Scotland.

On 2 March 2006, it was announced that Scottish Television would revert to using its former brand name of "STV", which it previously used from the start of colour broadcasting in 1969 until 30 August 1985, and which the station is still informally known as in parts of Scotland. Scottish Television became known as STV Central. At the same time, Grampian Television would also become known as STV North, with the one main identity of STV serving the two licences. The rebrand took place on 30 May 2006. The stations broadcast a mix of network programming such as Coronation Street and The X Factor and imported output including Underbelly alongside local programming such as STV News at Six, Scotland Tonight and STV Rugby.

Other channels

The former SMG plc ran its own digital channel, S2, throughout the Scottish and Grampian ITV regions. S2, which aired on the Digital Terrestrial platform, was launched on 30 April 1999 and was replaced by ITV2 just over two years later - as part of a deal with ITV Digital - on 27 July 2001.^[7]

Sky Scottish was a satellite television channel operating on the analogue Sky TV service between 1 November 1996 and 31 May 1998. The service was a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and the Scottish Media Group. It initially broadcast between 6.00pm and 8.00pm in Scotland. The channel was closed due to poor ratings.

A high-definition channel, STV HD, launched on 6 June 2010.^[8]

Production

STV Productions

Main article: STV Productions

STV Productions (renamed from SMG Productions on 1 October 2008) forms part of the network television production arm of STV Group plc, producing drama, factual, entertainment and children's output from its bases in Glasgow and London for all UK terrestrial networks as well as key satellite and cable channels.

Ginger Productions

Main article: Ginger Productions

Ginger Productions, alongside STV Productions, is part of the network production arm of STV Group plc. Based in Waterhouse Square in London, its output focuses on Entertainment and Factual Entertainment.

Ginger was acquired as part of SMG's acquisition of the Ginger Media Group in 1999.

STV Creative

STV Creative is the company's commercial production division, based in Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Solutions

Solutions is STV's production resources division, providing facilities for studios, outside broadcasts, post-production, corporate events and commercial productions.

Radio

Main article: Virgin Radio

Up until May 2008, the company owned Virgin Radio, a British commercial music radio station based in London.

Virgin Radio was launched as 'Virgin 1215' nationally on 1215 kHz (although some regional transmitters used other frequencies) at 12.15pm on 30 April 1993 by Richard Branson as part of his Virgin brand. It was sold to Ginger Media (which was subsequently bought by SMG plc) but retained the Virgin name at the time.

On 12 April 2007, it was announced that SMG planned to sell Virgin Radio, to enable the company to focus on its television station, STV.^[9] Virgin Radio was finally sold to a group led by The Times of India for £53million on 30 May 2008.^[3]

Advertising

STV Group plc owned cinema advertiser Pearl & Dean, whose rival Digital Cinema Media was owned by ITV plc when it was known as Carlton Screen Advertising.

They also formerly owned outdoor billboard advertiser Primesight.

In 2006, SMG plc announced it plans to sell off Pearl & Dean and Primesight.^[10]

In August 2007, SMG finally sold Primesight for up to £62m to a private equity firm.^[11][12] SMG said in a statement that the price GMT Communications Partners is paying represents a "clear uplift" on offers previously received for Primesight.^[13] Primesight have been prosecuted a number of times for the display of advertisements without consent which is an offence under UK Planning Acts.^[14][15] The lack of consent for many of Primesight's displays is said to have reduced the selling price by up to £30 million.^[16]

Pearl & Dean has been sold for £1 (subject to shareholder approval) on 21 April 2010 to Image Ltd, a company backed by Thomas Anderson, a Director of Empire Cinemas.^[4]

Internet

stv.tv

The URL stv.tv is the address of the main website of STV. The website currently offers News, Sport, Weather, Entertainment, Competitions, and STV programme information, and TV listings.

stv.tv/local

STV Local is a Scottish network of hyper-local, community-based websites. Pilot sites have been launched in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh, Moray and North & South Lanarkshire . The plan is to have a Scotland-wide network of sites up and running by late-2011/early-2012.

stv.tv/player

STV Player is the video section of the main stv.tv website. It offers catchup of regular STV programming, along with archive STV programmes and exclusive videos.

stv.tv/bingo

STV Bingo was launched in 2006 and is run in partnership with CashCade.

stvjobs.com

STV Jobs, a classifieds and recruitment website, was launched in February 2009.

stvholidays.com

STV Holidays was launched in 2011, in association with Barrhead Travel. The website offers cheap holidays, cruises and city breaks - departing from Scotland, and around the UK.

stvlivecasino.com

STV Live Casino was launched by STV Group plc in July 2011, with technical partner VueTec.

The game brings live gaming action from the casino floor, in real time and from real casino tables. VueTec technology allows online players to view all the casino action live on their computers, with the wheel and cards being spun and dealt in real time.

Studios

STV Group headquarters in Glasgow.

STV Group's headquarters in Glasgow were located on Renfield Street in Cowcaddens, Glasgow since Scottish Television's launch in 1957, but moved to new studios in Pacific Quay, a development situated next to the River Clyde, in July 2006, alongside BBC Scotland's new studios and the Glasgow Science Centre. STV Group's Aberdeen studios moved to a new purpose-built site in the city's Tullos area in 2003, from their previous location (a converted tram shed), which they occupied since Grampian launched in 1961.^[17]

STV also has studios in Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness providing regional news coverage in their particular area.

Relationship with ITV plc

STV Group plc has had a turbulent relationship with ITV plc and both Carlton and Granada, the predecessor companies that merged to create it. ITV plc owns the ITV franchises in England, Wales, Southern Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders) and the Isle of Man. ITV plc also operates a number of digital channels and websites under the ITV brand. The company threatened to take legal action over the use of the name 'ITV' because it is the name of the Independent Television network, which STV Central and STV North are both part of. One of the problems facing the group is that ITV is the senior partner when it comes to its two TV stations, since London-based ITV effectively controls most of the scheduling and is also responsible for selling STV's advertising airtime. Rumours persist of a possible takeover of STV Group plc by ITV plc (see below).

In September 2009, ITV plc announced it was to launch legal proceedings against STV for a quoted unpaid debt of £38 million from network programming contributions, following STV's practice of dropping a number of network programmes on the STV franchise. At the same time, STV claimed it is also following procedures against ITV plc, for up to £40 million owed to STV under its advertising sales agreements.^[18]

Merger proposals

In September 2006, the then SMG officially rejected a merger offer from Northern Irish ITV franchise holder UTV. The merger approach from would have given SMG shareholders a 52% stake in the combined company. The Scottish group said its board had examined a revised merger proposal from UTV, but did not believe it reflected the value of the company.^[19]

In 2006 ITV plc considered making an offer for STV Group, according to the Mail on Sunday. The newspaper quoted an ITV source as saying John Cresswell, acting chief executive at the broadcaster, was most interested in the group's television franchises but that any deal would be for the whole group, including Virgin Radio, which SMG also owns. An ITV spokesman declined to comment on the report.
SMG said earlier in the month^[when?] that its 2006 profit would be materially behind expectations, sending its shares down more than a quarter in value to a 15-year low.^[20]

On 10 January 2007, SMG and Belfast-based UTV agreed the details of their merger, including a revised share split between the two. UTV, would own 54% of the group. SMG would take the remaining 46%.^[21]

This merger was finally rejected at the end of February, and a new board and management were introduced at SMG shortly afterwards. The company announced plans to concentrate on its core TV business, floating off Virgin Radio and selling Pearl & Dean and Primesight.

References

1. ^ "Changes to the board of directors of SMG plc". London Stock Exchange. 28 February 2007. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1424489&source=RNS. Retrieved 7 March 2007. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Annual Report 2010". STV Group. http://www.stvplc.tv/content/mediaassets/doc/STV%20Complete.pdf. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Virgin Radio sold to Indian group". BBC News. 31 May 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7429193.stm. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "STV to sell Pearl & Dean for £1". BBC News. 21 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8634158.stm. Retrieved 21 April 2010. 
5. ^ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (24 June 2008). "SMG reborn as STV Group". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/24/mediabusiness.television?gusrc=rss&feed=media. Retrieved 24 June 2008. 
6. ^ "Goodbye SMG... Hello STV Group". BroadcastNow. 1 October 2008. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2008/10/goodbye_smg_hello_stv_group.html. Retrieved 2 October 2008. 
7. ^ "S2 dropped for ITV2". Digital Spy. 27 July 2001. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a3459/s2-dropped-for-itv2.html. Retrieved 31 August 2007. 
8. ^ "HD television is coming to STV". STV. http://www.stv.tv/stvhd. Retrieved 1 June 2010. 
9. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (12 April 2001). "SMG strategy was 'flawed'". MediaGuardian. http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,,2055432,00.html. Retrieved 31 August 2007. 
10. ^ "SMG Announces Sale of Cinema and Outdoor Businesses". London Stock Exchange. 13 September 2006. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1297276&source=RNS. Retrieved 7 March 2007. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Primesight set to be sold". AOL Money. 27 June 2007. http://money.aol.co.uk/primesight-set-to-be-sold/article/20070627031109990001. Retrieved 27 November 2007. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "SMG to spin off Virgin Radio as earnings fall". Edinburgh Evening News. 12 April 2007. http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=562302007. Retrieved 27 November 2007. 
13. ^ "Proposed disposal of Primesight". London Stock Exchange. 31 August 2007. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1567047&source=RNS. Retrieved 31 August 2007. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ "Company fined for illegal advertising". Wandsworth Council. 30 May 2007. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/MyWandsworth/Pressreleases/searchreleasedetail.htm?id=5061. Retrieved 27 November 2007. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ "It all ads up to a £6k fine". This is Local London. 7 June 2007. http://www.thisislocallondon.com/whereilive/localheadlines/display.var.1454962.0.it_all_ads_up_to_a_6k_fine.php. Retrieved 27 November 2007. ^{[dead link]}
16. ^ "Hindsight on SMG's sale of Primesight". Sunday Herald. 2007. http://www.sundayherald.com/business/businessnews/display.var.1460464.0.hindsight_on_smgs_sale_of_primesight.php. Retrieved 27 November 2007. ^{[dead link]}
17. ^ "SMG begins move to brand new home at Pacific Quay". SMG Television. 7 July 2006. http://stv.lumison.net/content/default.asp?page=s5_4_4&newsid=3492. Retrieved 31 August 2007. 
18. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (22 September 2009). "ITV takes legal action over STV's network programme payments". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/22/itv-stv-network-programme-budget-contributions. Retrieved 22 September 2009. 
19. ^ Day, Julia (29 August 2006). "SMG turns down UTV merger bid". MediaGuardian. http://media.guardian.co.uk/city/story/0,,1860542,00.html. Retrieved 7 March 2007. 
20. ^ "ITV mulls bid for media firm SMG". The Scotsman. 29 October 2006. Archived from the original on 1 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061101124527/http://business.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1600952006. Retrieved 7 March 2007. 
21. ^ "UTV gains ground in SMG merger negotiations". The Business. 10 January 2007. http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Document.aspx?id=F1FE66B5-A1D6-414C-B350-94E0A5342A2F. Retrieved 7 March 2007. 

External links

STV Group plc STV STV Press on Twitter

STV Creative STV Local

STV Holidays STV Jobs

STV Bingo STV Live Casino