Company Announcements

Thursday 20 August 2020

STV PRODUCTIONS REBRANDS TO STV STUDIOS

STV Group today (20 August) announces the rebranding of its production company from STV Productions to STV Studios. 

The name change reflects the growing portfolio of businesses which are now part of the STV production family and the diverse multi-genre output of the company, and is a statement of intent about STV's future growth. 

Alongside its Drama, Factual and Entertainment divisions - led by Sarah Brown, Craig Hunter and Gary Chippington - STV Studios has interests in three other production companies at present:

·  The business holds a majority stake in award-winning unscripted producer, Primal Media (announced June 2019), the team behind a range of successful formats including Rose D'Or winning Big Heads for ITV, Jerk for Channel 4 and Carnage for Sky One.  Led by Adam Wood and Mat Steiner, Primal Media has just won its first commission as part of the STV family, an ambitious 8 part series, Landmark for Sky Arts.

·    In January 2020, STV acquired a minority stake in high-end drama producer, Two Cities, the company behind critically acclaimed Patrick Melrose, commissioned by Sky Atlantic and Showtime, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The company is led by Michael Jackson, formerly BBC1 Controller and Channel 4 CEO, and Stephen Wright (Line of Duty, The Fall), and has an impressive pipeline of drama projects and scripts at an advanced stage.

·    STV Studios also has an exclusive deal with respected drama producer Elaine Collins (Shetland, Vera) and her company, Tod Productions, to develop and co-produce a slate of distinctive, high quality TV drama projects.

STV's production teams have been innovative and worked tirelessly to support the recovery of the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Celebrity Catchphrase was the first big entertainment show in the UK to go back into production post-lockdown, with the team safely and successfully filming ten episodes at Maidstone last month, and all other STV-produced programmes are now back filming. The Factual team secured and produced a series for Channel 5 during lockdown, The Palace and the Press. STV Studios drama team last month celebrated BAFTA nominations for the critically acclaimed The Victim and Elizabeth is Missing, with leading actress Glenda Jackson celebrating a win for her exceptional performance in Elizabeth is Missing.

Overall, the STV Studios creative pipeline is in a very strong position. Across three drama labels STV has 68 projects in development, of which 35 are in funded development and 39 are at script development stage. Across our unscripted businesses there are some 75 projects in development, with a large number in advanced discussions with commissioners.

With bases in Glasgow, London and Northern Ireland, STV Studios and its affiliates are strongly positioned to address the growing market for high quality production from the Nations and Regions.

David Mortimer, Managing Director of STV Studios, said:

"I'm incredibly proud of the resilience and innovation shown by our production teams these past months and am delighted that all of STV's shows are now back in production under strict safety protocols.

"This is a hugely exciting time for us and our rebrand to STV Studios more accurately reflects the kind of business we've evolved into and our ambition for the future.  Alongside our own brilliant entertainment, drama and factual teams we're growing our portfolio of partners, with Primal, Two Cities and Tod all valuable members of the STV family with creative leaders that I admire greatly.

"Across STV Studios' now six creative labels our development pipeline is the strongest it has ever been. Together we're delivering a host of diverse, high quality content from the nations and regions for multiple broadcasters, and I'm very excited about what the future holds for STV Studios."

Press Contact:

Kirstin Stevenson, STV Studios

07803 970106 / Kirstin.stevenson@stv.tv

About STV Studios

STV Studios is one of the UK's leading content businesses and is Scotland's biggest indie. Led by award-winning executive David Mortimer, the company has an impressive track-record of success across drama, entertainment and factual, with commissions spanning BBC One and Two, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC Scotland, Discovery, VH1/MTV and Sky One.

In scripted, STV Studios' critically acclaimed thriller The Victim for BBC One was watched by more than 7.2m viewers and saw leading actress, Kelly Macdonald, win a BAFTA Scotland Award in 2019.  TV film Elizabeth is Missing, featuring two time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson, was broadcast on BBC One. The drama achieved a 5.5m consolidated audience, received 5 star reviews and Glenda Jackson won the leading actress BAFTA in July 2020. 

Unscripted formats include 20 series of Antiques Road Trip and nine series of sister programme, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip for BBC, with a further 140 episodes in production and due to air over the next two years; six series of Catchphrase and five of Celebrity Catchphrase for ITV, often delivering audiences of more than 4m; and The Yorkshire Auctioneer, a ten-part factual series for Discovery. 

Documentary commissions include Britain's Polar Bear Cub for Channel 4, two series of Prison: First & Last 24 Hours for Sky One and Ross Kemp Behind Bars - Inside Barlinnie for ITV.  The team most recently produced a series about the royal family's relationship with the tabloid media, The Palace and the Press, for Channel 5 and are responsible for one of BBC Scotland's most popular series, Inside Central Station.

In 2019, STV Studios acquired a majority stake in award-winning unscripted producer Primal Media, with recent productions including documentaries Home Free for Channel 4 and Jerk for BBC Three. Primal was commissioned in July 2020 to produce Landmark, an 8 part factual entertainment series for Sky Arts.  The business recently announced the acquisition of a minority stake in high-end drama producer, Two Cities, makers of Patrick Melrose (Sky Atlantic).  STV Studios is also the home of Tod Productions, the drama company launched by award winning producer Elaine Collins.

STV Studios was originally called STV Productions and rebranded in August 2020.