Simon Pitts has begun his long goodbye from STV, and it is fair to say he will leave the role with more good memories than bad.
Mr Pitts, who is departing to take up an unspecified new appointment in early 2025, arrived at the Glasgow-based media group with a strong reputation from his work on the transformation of ITV under its former boss, Adam Crozier, and did not waste any time in putting his mark on its Scottish counterpart.
He ruffled a few feathers early in his tenure when he shut down the loss-making digital channel STV2 and restructured the STV news operation, as part of a transformation plan. The moves led to 59 redundancies and Mr Pitts appearing before MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s culture committee, who were concerned the cuts would have a detrimental effect on the station’s news output.
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It would be wrong to suggest it has all been plain sailing since, with the pandemic proving to be a challenging period. But Mr Pitts can say with confidence that his transformation plan for the broadcaster has paid off.
A major priority of Mr Pitts from the outset was to restore STV as producer of original and recurring television shows and he can point to considerable progress in that regard. Results published by the firm today showed that STV Studios was the driving force as total revenue rose by 22% to £168.4m in 2023, with revenue from the productions division surging by 182% to £66.8m. It helped offset a 12% fall in advertising revenue to £97.3m linked to the challenging economic backdrop, though the firm said the outlook for that market was more encouraging this year.
STV Studios, which makes shows ranging from prison drama Screw for Channel 4 to Antiques Road Trip for the BBC, produced a record 68 series and secured more than 50 new commissions and recommissions during a “standout” year in 2023. More than £55m of revenue has been secured for 2024, with the productions unit benefiting from a series of acquisitions, most notably the “transformative” takeover of Greenbird in July last year. STV is now aiming to double revenue from productions to £140m under a new three-year growth strategy announced today.
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Mr Pitts has also, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction with the progress made by digital streaming service STV Player, which continues to add new content and registered users, and the viewing performance of STV News.
All in all, it has been an eventful six years for the television executive in Scotland. There may yet be room for a little more drama by the time he leaves his office in Pacific Quay for the final time.
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