Channel 3 PSB network renewed for another decade

STV agrees with terms for north and central Scotland licences for 10-year period from 2025…

Simon Pitts, CEO of STV Group plc:

“We welcome the renewal of our licences, which provides us with the certainty to continue to invest in our business for the long term, while ensuring continued delivery of valued public service broadcasting on Channel 3 in Scotland until the end of 2034. We’re proud to be Scotland’s most popular peak time channel, which is testament to a strong schedule of local programming, news and current affairs alongside popular, award-winning network content through our agreement with ITV.”

STV Group plc this week confirmed that it has accepted new financial terms with regulator, Ofcom, to renew its Channel 3 licences for the north and central regions of Scotland. The new licences will come into effect from 1 January 2025 and will run for a ten-year period, securing the benefits of Scottish public service broadcasting for STV viewers.

STV notes that ITV has also accepted the same terms for each of its 13 regional Channel 3 licences, which secures the future of the Channel 3 network across the UK.  STV have also continued to a ‘Network programming agreement’ with ITV in place throughout the licence duration.

Simon Pitts, CEO of STV Group plc:

“It’s now critical that the Media Bill progresses through the UK parliament and is swiftly implemented by Ofcom to ensure Public Service Media’s prominence in the digital era. This would guarantee that streaming services run by PSBs, like STV Player, are easily discoverable by viewers on digital platforms and devices.”

The Channel 3 network launched originally in 1955 as the Independent Television Authority with a network of Independent Television stations, all producing local content to their region or UK country. Names such as Southern Television, London Weekend and TSW are still fondly remembered by many older viewers. STV, launching as Scottish Television, has been broadcasting throughout the changes since the 1950s to Central Scotland. North Scotland was served by Grampian, later rebranded as STV North.