Special Reports: STV Feud With ITV Hots Up

The on-going feud between STV and ITV hotted up again last week when the Scottish broadcaster announced it was dropping more ITV dramas from its schedules. A few weeks back we made a few predictions on which shows STV could drop next. Here we review whether we were right or not and once again we’ll list which shows STV could drop, or even shunt around in its schedules, next. We even dare to suggest that Coronation Street and Emmerdale may not be safe in this feud.

By the end of the year there may be very little ITV drama left on STV after the Scottish broadcaster once again took an axe to its schedules and dropped more ITV shows. Already the victims of STV axes were The Bill, Lewis, Kingdom, Benidorm, Midsomer Murders and Al Murray’s Happy Hour. Joining them as victims of the STV/ITV feud will be The Fixer, Doc Martin, Blue Murder, Marple and lavish new adaptation Wuthering Heights – due to air over the Bank Holiday Weekend. It’s also likely, but not yet confirmed as far as we can tell, that The Royal and Heartbeat have also been dropped by STV – if they haven’t already they certainly are in danger of doing so.

At the moment it seems the only ITV drama’s that will air on STV are Murderland and An Englishman in New York and possibly the four new Poirot adaptations which are currently in production. Wild at Heart also seems to be safe at the moment but with the drama due to return this Autumn/winter it could still yet be dropped by STV unless their feud with ITV is resolved soon.

As the feud continues could STV cast their eye towards the jewels in ITV’s crown – Coronation Street and Emmerdale? It’s almost impossible to think the Scottish broadcaster would axe them entirely from its schedules but it may decided, its contract permitting, to move them out of their current Networked slot. If STV did this it would be the first time in over a decade that ITV’s soaps have not aired at the same time across the network and would herald a return to the old days of regional television when each franchise aired the soaps according to their own schedules. For example while Emmerdale may now have a 7pm slot Anglia and Thames used to air the rural soap in an afternoon slot – STV may very well decide its next move is to take both soaps out of their current slots, and even broadcasting days, and instead move them elsewhere in their schedules.

Any such move would be a big attack on ITV and far more so than the removal of The Bill ahead of its revamp and the dumping of other big shows such as Lewis, Doc Martin and Marple but it would show ITV that STV mean business and the days when London dictated what went on across the franchises are over. But this is, of course, just pure speculation but it is interesting to note that ITV still haven’t renewed Taggart and should STV drop any more shows that veteran detective drama series could find itself a victim of murder.