STV plans to acquire more drama

Independent Scottish broadcaster STV plans to acquire more dramas from broadcasters other than ITV and also plans to gradually develop its own drama department.

Scottish broadcaster STV plans to step up its drama output by acquiring from programmes from broadcasters other than ITV and also developing and expanding its own drama department.

The Channel 3 broadcaster (formerly ITV Network) has, over the past few months, dropped nearly all of the dramas aired on ITV with hits such as Lewis, Kingdom and Doc Martin disappearing from the schedules. STV has replaced the programmes with more locally based shows and also programming from other seas such as South Park.

STV is determined to press ahead with this policy by acquiring more dramas from broadcasters such as RTÉ and also expanding its own drama output.

The gradual expansion of its own drama department could see detective series Taggart saved from cancellation. ITV currently fund the drama which is produced by STV but declining ratings and relations between ITV and STV has seen the drama face the axe. ITV has yet to order further episodes of the series and recently several producers on the show were made redundant raising fears for the shows future.

Recently Michael Grade slammed STV for axing ITV dramas from its schedules including the recently revamped London cop-drama The Bill. However, revamped and later version of The Bill hasn’t exactly taken off with viewers in the rest of the UK with ratings dropping 1.5 million since the shows re-launch in July. Grade claimed STV’s decisions to drop ITV shows was depriving Scottish viewers and damaging the ITV brand.