STV wins a celebrity road trip

SCOTTISH broadcaster STV has received a boost to its commissioning pipeline as revealed it will produce 20 episodes of Celebrity Antiques Road Trip for the BBC.

The twist on a tried and true format comes after STV previously announced it won a commission to produce 120 episodes of the non-celebrity version in February.

In the first three months of the year the Glasgow-based broadcaster and producer has also won its first ever commission from BBC Three, with the production of a new panel show pilot, Fake Reaction. It has also confirmed its involvement in the development of a historical drama series, Wallace, in association with Digital Rights Group (DRG), LA based Creative Media and Nine/8 Entertainment.

The surge in production work comes after it settled legal wrangles with its channel 3 parent company, ITV through which STV has become an affiliate.

Nevertheless, trading has proved difficult. Publishing an update on trading conditions in advance of its annual general meeting today, STV reported that airtime revenues were down 3 per cent in the first quarter while income from national advertising was down 6 per cent – albeit both of these figures were ahead of its own expectations. It added that income from its regional market segment increased by 12 per cent year on year, and that early indications for May suggests that total airtime revenues are up 4 per cent year on year.

It also said that next month will see the launch new STV local city sites for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV Group, said: “We are making good progress across our strategic growth areas and we have recently confirmed the agreement of new networking arrangements with ITV.

“At this early stage of the year, STV Productions is performing well and has secured further commissions.

“In addition, our digital services continue to deliver strong growth.

“At the beginning of next month we will launch our new look STV City sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh.”