Regulator Ofcom backs changes to STV news output – Daily Business

STV will reshape its news operation

STV will go ahead with its newsroom shake-up after media regulator Ofcom confirmed its support for the proposed changes.

Its flagship programme, STV News at 6, will include a shared section for 70% of its duration with the remaining time featuring content specific to each of the north and central areas.

Newsgathering resources will remain on the ground at all existing sites in Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee as well as Holyrood and Westminster.

Presentation of STV News at 6 will be from its Glasgow studio, with the Aberdeen studio also regularly in use. The presenting team will include senior journalists from both the north and central regions

A wide range of local, regional and national stories will be available across multiple platforms throughout the day via STV’s expanding digital news operation.

STV said the changs enable STV News at 6 “to retain the distinct regional character of both licences” across its linear and digital services, “on a sustainable basis and reflecting the ways people now consume news”.

Ofcom has also approved the sharing of shorter bulletins at other times of the day and the removal of the four sub-regional opts.

The changes to news commitments are the first in 20 years and were submitted in response to significant, long-term changes in the way audiences consume news, with linear audiences declining alongside a growth in engagement with online and social content throughout the day.

These shifts in audience behaviour are impacting all broadcasters, said STV, and the changes to its licences reflect the acute challenges presented in Ofcom’s research and call for action in the sector in its report, Transmission Critical: The future of Public Service Media.

STV chief executive, Rufus Radcliffe, said: “We’re incredibly proud of STV News at 6, which remains Scotland’s most watched news programme, but like all Public Service Media companies, we must respond to the significant shift in audience behaviour.

“The changes Ofcom has approved to our licences will enable us to continue serving viewers with the high-quality, trusted national and regional news they expect from us. Crucially, this will be sustainable for our business and will be accessible on air and across all the digital platforms viewers now expect.

“As a commercial Public Service Broadcaster, that receives no public funding, we are focused on the future and what we do best – trusted news and high-quality content that continues to resonate with audiences across all of Scotland.”

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