STV, the Scottish media group, has reported that total revenue rose by 20 per cent to £90.4 million (€107.2m) in H1 2024 (compared to H1 2023) and adjusted operating profit increased by 33 per cent to £10.6 million.
Studios revenue was up 38 per cent with improved forward order book of £101 million. Broadcast revenue was up 12 per cent and adjusted operating profit rose by 47 per cent and total advertising revenue increased by 13 per cent to £51.9 million.
STV & STV Player combined continued to be #1 draw for commercial audiences in Scotland, with data showing:
- 21 per cent share of total peak commercial audience in H1 2024, +1 per cent on 2023 (vs Netflix at 12 per cent, Sky at 8 per cent and Channel 4 at 6 per cent)
- 495 of top 500 commercial audiences were on STV in H1 2024
- Online streams of 73 million, up 4 per cent, with online consumption of 34 million hours, down 5 per cent due to lower drama hours
- VoD advertising revenue up 13 per cent, showing benefits of new ITV partnership
- Digital live viewing up 33 per cent; 18-34 streams up 35 per cent; male streams up 23 per cent
“Over the last 6 years STV has been successfully transformed into a digital-first media company with a high-growth streaming service and one of the UK’s leading television production groups. This strong progress continues in 2024, with revenue and profit both up materially in the first half, reflecting our audience performance, the improving advertising market, and our creative strength in STV Studios, as we continue the successful execution of our growth plan,” commented Simon Pitts Chief Executive, STV.
“Our production investment strategy is delivering tangible results, with STV Studios continuing its strong revenue growth in the first half, and we have today announced an exciting new deal to take majority control of profitable unscripted formats creator, Hello Halo. With high value recommissions of series like Criminal Record for Apple TV+ and The Fortune Hotel for ITV also secured, we have our strongest ever future order book in Studios at £101 million in program commissions.”
“Our audience position remains unrivaled, with STV again the most-watched peaktime TV channel in Scotland, ahead of BBC1, and with nearly double the audience share of Netflix. Euro 2024 was a major audience and commercial success, propelling STV Player to its most successful first half-year ever in terms of streams and delivering the most watched TV moment of the year so far, with the Germany vs Scotland opening game peaking at 1.38 million viewers in Scotland. We are on track to deliver our stretching new growth targets out to 2026, and with a fantastic team in place I’m confident Rufus Radcliffe and the Board will take the business to new heights in the years ahead,” concluded Pitt.
From Advanced Television
