STV Studios drives soaring group revenues

STV Studios upped its revenue across 2024 by a substantial 26% to £84.1m, fuelled by growth in its acquired labels as well as strong returning performances.  

Releasing its full year financial results today, the Scottish broadcaster posted an adjusted operating profit for its Studios division that increased by 18% to £6.1m.  

Overall STV group revenue was up by 12% from £168.4m to £188m, with the rise driven by acquisition-related growth in Studios as well as Euros-related advertising.  

While STV’s overall adjusted operating margin was slightly down at 11% compared with 2023’s 11.9%, the group’s operating profit for the year shot up from £6.4m to £13.2m - a 106% increase.  

Newly appointed chief executive Rufus Radcliffe said that it was clear “that the foundations of the business are strong”. He added that having scaled up Studios and its digital business, the group is “much more balanced” with “good growth potential.”  

STV Studios  

STV Studios’ revenue boost comes after it acquired Greenbird’s network of companies in the summer of 2023, with this acquisition having boosted performance significantly across 2024.   

The 21-strong list of labels, overseen by chief executive David Mortimer landed a total of 51 commissions across 2024 across a diverse range of broadcasters and streaming platforms, securing a future revenue of £76m.  

Among its strong performances, recently acquired label Two Cities’ first contribution to the group was a revenue of £31.5m and an adjusted operating profit of £2.7m. This was driven by series such as Amadeus on Sky and Blue Lights on the BBC.  

Hello Halo and Rumpus also joined the group with majority stakes, contributing a combined £5.5m in revenue and an adjusted operating profit of £1.1m.  STV Studios has now upped its majority stake in Rumpus to 99%. 

Studios’ adjusted operating margin did however narrowly reduce from 7.7% in 2023 to 7.2% in 2024. The broadcaster attributed this to the genre mix in programmes delivered and margin pressure from commissioners.

It did however remain optimistic of future margin growth, with 37 returning series produced in 2024 and strong secondary sales revenue of £7.7m.  

STV also finished the year strongly with the end of 2024 securing high value recommissions of series including Apple TV+’s Criminal Record, Blue Lights series 3 and 4 and ITV’s entertainment show The Fortune Hotel series 2.  

 

STV & Digital  

STV was the most watched commercial channel in Scotland for 363 out of 366 days in 2024, remaining the clear winner for commercial audiences in the nation.  

It took a 19% share of total peak commercial audience for the year, compared with Netflix at 13%, Sky at 10% and Channel 4 at 6%.  

Speaking to Broadcast, chief exec Radcliffe said that in terms of viewing and advertising, STV “is the number one destination in Scotland” for TV audiences. To underline this, he pointed to stand out moments such as drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office and its coverage of the Euros as major drivers of audiences.  

Meanwhile, STV Player currently sits with 1m monthly active users, with a target of 1.5m by the end of 2026.  

Acquired titles have represented 36% of consumption on the player, with key acquired titles including Brookside and Red Rock.  

Digital sales before commission have now boosted by 8% to £21.8m.  

In terms of monetisation of audiences, new advertisers for STV in 2024 totalled 124, with a rebooking rate of 55%.  

Like ITV, STV is also making a series of cost savings with a £5m annual cost saving target by the end of 2026. some £1.9m of this was realised in 2024 with a further target of £1.7m this year.  

So far this has been achieved by looking at efficiencies such as bringing post-production in house and simplifying the business.  

 

“2024 was a good year for STV,” said Radcliffe. “We delivered a strong performance against a challenging economic backdrop, with results in line with expectations. We are controlling those elements we can, in line with our strategy, and are very much on track to ensure that STV is in the best possible shape when the market recovers.” 

Noting the turbulence of the ad market, Radcliffe acknowledged the difficulties facing the industry but added on a more optimistic note. 

“It always comes back and it will come back,” he said. “What we’re focussed on is controlling what we can, and the most powerful thing we can control is having a strong advertising proposition. We have a huge reach and an ability to reach large audiences with our broadcast channel and fantastic targeting through VoD.”  

Radcliffe has also teased a strategy refresh, which promises to take STV to the next stage of development and growth. This is set to be updated in May.  

“What we’re doing is lifting out heads up and thinking about STV in 2030,” he said. “We’re building on all the progress we’ve made.”