Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce

It's been a great month for STV as the broadcaster's production business is on course to deliver £12 million of revenues and 140 hours of programming this year, overcoming a tough advertising market to return to profit.

Better news is still on the horizon as the Glasgow based company confirmed three-quarters of this content is to be delivered in the second half of the year. It includes a newly-announced commission for a celebrity chef cookery series for BBC Two, and the co-production of two-part drama The Poison Tree for ITV.

The organisation generates 11 per cent of earnings from non broadcasting, putting STV on schedule to meet its goal of earning a third more profits from online activities and television production by 2015.

STV is increasingly combining its digital offering with traditional broadcasting to boost advertising sales. Virtual ad placements using technology from MirriAd - in which STV has a 6 per cent stake - raised revenues from the recent Brave film campaign by more than 10 per cent.

Earlier in the month, the broadcaster submitted applications to Ofcom to be awarded special local TV licenses covering Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Ofcom's deadline for accepting bids for 21 new local TV stations across the UK, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, expired on August 13 with the  proposed new channels to be delivered to viewers over Freeview using a new overarching multiplex operator.

STV has therefore partnered with Glasgow Caledonian University and Edinburgh Napier University to propose the creation of Glasgow TV (GTV) and Edinburgh TV (ETV).

The new channels would benefit from STV's facilities and experience as a digital broadcaster, and they would also offer a place for media students at the universities to train in a live environment. It is also expected that the stations would provide job opportunities in Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

STV's application proposes that peak time content on GTV and ETV would include extensive locally relevant news and current affairs programming, as well as tailored magazine shows. 

All excellent news for the city's creative industries.