STV seals long-term deal with Sky to deliver more drama, entertainment and documentary boxsets

STV, the Glasgow-based broadcaster, has agreed a long-term deal with Sky to deliver more drama, entertainment and documentary boxsets.

Scottish broadcaster STV said it was providing an increasing range of 'high quality multi-genre titles', including US dramas like The Bridge and Gracepoint; Australian boxsets The Slap, Janet King (pictured) and Devil’s Dust, and Irish series Striking Out. Picture: Ben Timony/STV

Since the two firms signed an agreement last year, Sky Q customers in Scotland have been able to access content from STV.

That partnership has now been extended, and Sky Q customers across the rest of the UK will now have access to hundreds of hours of STV boxsets, with more to come.

Additionally, the STV Player video-on-demand service will now be automatically installed on NOW TV devices, with the app appearing on users’ home screens.

The launch will also enable Sky Q customers across the UK to watch a range of STV’s local programming and classic archive material.

The Scots broadcaster said it was providing an increasing range of “high quality multi-genre titles”, including US dramas like The Bridge and Gracepoint; Australian boxsets The Slap, Janet King and Devil’s Dust, and Irish series Striking Out.

Richard Williams, managing director of digital at STV, said: “This extension of our partnership with Sky, to include UK-wide devices and NOW TV, considerably broadens the availability of the STV content to millions of new homes. 2020 has been a year of significant growth for STV Player.”

Elaine Thornton, director of partner channels at Sky, said: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with STV to offer Sky Q customers hundreds more hours of drama, international hits, local programming and news at no additional cost.

“STV’s great content will be available alongside unique stories from Sky Originals and the expansive range of content provided by our partners, from the BBC to HBO, through to Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.”

In October, STV said it was adding more than 250 hours of content to its video-on-demand service after a surge in demand.

Under a string of new deals, the content line-up on STV Player will be bolstered by drama programmes East West 101, Striking Out and Devil’s Dust. They will join what the firm described as an “already stellar line-up” which includes the likes of Catching Milat, The Bridge and Janet King.

The catch-up window on network content has also been extended, meaning hit dramas like Des and Honour will be available on the player platform for longer.

The group said it was also adding 140 hours of new sport to the video-on-demand service as part of the latest catalogue expansion. Weekly football analysis shows Life’s a Pitch and The Football Review lead the new additions, alongside “petrolhead-friendly” titles Garage Dreams, The Racing Years and Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman.

In September, STV pointed to a recovery in advertising revenues and added another producer to its growing studios portfolio after the coronavirus pandemic dragged the group to a first-half loss.

Releasing results for the six months to the end of June, the broadcasting group said it had seen its highest audience growth ever, up 12 per cent, with all time viewing share of 19.2 per cent. That growth had continued as lockdown measures were relaxed, it added.

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