STV wants more freedom from ITV

Scottish commercial broadcaster STV wants greater freedom from ITV to allow more scheduling flexibility.

In response to Ofcom’s PSB review, STV said it rejects the idea of a single UK-wide Channel 3 licence as it won’t be in Scotland’s interest, according to reports.

The broadcaster believes the retention of the Channel 3 network with dedicated licences, which will provide relevant content for regional audiences, will best serve the broadcasting interests of Scotland and UK regions.

Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV, said the current ITV model “needs modernising for the digital age”.

The Scottish broadcaster also rejected ITV’s claims that it subsidises STV and Northern Ireland’s UTV network by £25 million per year, saying the total value to ITV being part of the federal ITV network is around £227 million.

A spokesperson for STV said: “The main elements of this are ITV’s ability to us ITV1 content on its digital channels at virtually no cost and to promote ITV2, 3 and 4 and ITV.com on ITV1.

“Both these aspects are valued in excess of £100 million per year. STV and UTV contribute £28 million to £31 million per annum directly to ITV plc through the ITV network,” they continued.

The broadcaster also asked for a “small level of funding” for it to be able to continue to produce high quality news and current affairs programmes in the short to medium term.

STV: www.stv.tv ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com