STV enters the local TV race in Scotland

STV has submitted an application to Ofcom for local TV licences covering Edinburgh and Glasgow, and teamed up with leading Scottish universities to deliver the two new channels.

“I am delighted that we are forming a partnership with STV as it submits an application to deliver GTV. We are ideally positioned to engage in this partnership, offering strengths such as our undergraduate and postgraduate Multimedia Journalism degrees, which have already produced graduates who have secured employment with STV.” – Professor Gillies

The applications, submitted in innovative partnerships with Glasgow Caledonian University in Glasgow and Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, would mean the creation of Glasgow TV GTV and Edinburgh TV ETV.

The new channels would benefit from STV’s facilities and extensive experience as a digital broadcaster offering locally focused services. The partnerships will also provide media students with the opportunity to train in a live environment and provide new employment opportunities in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In Glasgow, GCU Principal and Vice Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies would sit on the board of the new company.

“We have always placed great emphasis on employability and the launch of GTV would give our talented and committed graduates even more of a head start. I am also excited by the commitment of the new channel to work with the local community and this echoes GCU’s commitment to sharing its knowledge, resources and skills with the public, and to learning from the expertise of the different communities with which the university engages.” – Professor Gillies

STV’s applications for GTV and ETV propose peak time content, including extensive locally relevant news and current affairs programming together with a wide range of tailored magazine shows. Local community and volunteer groups would also benefit from opportunities to highlight their work within the new channels and local businesses would be offered accessible advertising opportunities to reach a highly targeted audience. Edinburgh Napier University will also be represented on the board of ETV.

“GTV and ETV are well placed to offer innovative and viable local TV options for Glasgow and Edinburgh. We’re delighted to be working with our leading university partners to offer informative content that focuses on relevant, community news. Engaging with local communities is at the heart of GTV and ETV and our proposals will deliver brand new services that will meet the needs of these two culturally distinct cities.” – Bobby Hain, director of channels at STV

Ofcom has made 21 local TV licences available throughout the UK, including two in Scotland. STV is currently independent of the ITVplc group who operate the Channel 3 “independent television” services in England and Wales. UTV, serving Northern Ireland, and Channel Television, for the Channel Islands, also remain independent of ITVplc. STV operate two Channel 3 services for Scotland with the former Scottish Television region now broadcasting as STV Central and the former Grampian Television area as STV North. The STV company is one of the oldest surviving independents of the original ITV regional broadcasting structure, having launched in 1957.

“This bid represents a tremendous opportunity for our students as well as the wider community in Edinburgh. We are fortunate to already enjoy a strong relationship with STV and, as an institution with a long history of producing first class broadcast journalists, we are very pleased to now be a partner in the Edinburgh TV bid.” – Professor Dame Joan Stringer, Principal and Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University