First Minister ‘disappointed and concerned’ by STV job losses

NICOLA STURGEON has criticised STV’s decision to cut 59 jobs with a newsroom restructure and the closure of the STV2 channel.

The First Minister said she was ‘disappointed and concerned’ about the proposals, announced yesterday, which have been made as part of a three-year restructuring plan.

The broadcaster said it had taken the “difficult decision” to close the loss-making STV2 channel, with 25 jobs lost, as STV’s content investment shifts online.

The channel will close at the end of June.

It has also launched a News 2020 change programme which will deliver savings of £1 million per year, with 34 job losses.

Responding at First Minister’s Questions to a question on the issue by Joan McAlpine, Ms Sturgeon said: “I am very disappointed and concerned that STV is cutting jobs and closing its second channel only a year after that channel was launched.

“This will be a very worrying time for all employees of STV who are affected by yesterday’s announcement and my thoughts, and I’m sure the thoughts of the chamber, are with them.

“This is a time when it is more important than ever that the Scottish perspective on local, national and international news is reflected by our broadcasters.

“It is therefore crucial that the STV News service is not diminished and that its team of excellent journalists can continue to produce a high-quality news service covering the whole of Scotland and I hope that STV will listen to the concerns that are being expressed right now.” 

There are real concerns that this is simply a way of preparing STV for sale to ITV, which would be an absolute disaster for Scottish Broadcasting? 2/2

— Joan McAlpine (@JoanMcAlpine) May 17, 2018

Yesterday, members of the National Union of Journalists at STV held a meeting in response to the news where they voted unanimously to hold a ballot on industrial action, including a strike.

Political editor Bernard Ponsonby, news anchor John MacKay and sports presenter Raman Bhardwaj were amongst those taking part in the meeting.

Union official John Toner said: “We are horrified and extremely angry at the decisions that have been taken by management and the way that the decisions have been communicated and by the lack of information surrounding the announcement that has been made today.”

STV said its growth strategy aims to establish the producer-broadcaster as Scotland’s “home of news and entertainment”.

The new organisational structure will create three distinct divisions across broadcast, digital and production, each with its own managing director.

The broadcaster said the decision to close STV2 at the end of June reflects the challenging economics of local television and anticipated new competition from BBC Scotland.

A statement said: “We’re closing STV2 at the end of June as part of our new 3-year growth plan to ensure STV’s future success.

“That means the shows we currently produce for STV2 won’t be continued although some programmes aired on it will be available on the STV Player.

“The decision to close the channel hasn’t been an easy one but it makes sense for us to focus our investment into fewer, bigger, better programmes for STV and the STV Player.

“We’ll be investing £15 million in producing original new programmes for these.”

The channel, which launched in April 2017, features news and entertainment as well as news programme STV News Tonight anchored by Halla Mohieddeen.

The move will deliver savings of £1 million a year.

Simon Pitts, STV chief executive, said: “This is a positive vision for STV that will re-establish the company as a creative force in Scotland and beyond.

“We will invest in creative talent, new original programming and digital to ensure STV becomes Scotland’s home of news and entertainment and delivers long-term value for advertisers, shareholders and viewers alike.”

He added: “News is fundamental to the STV brand and we remain committed to offering the best news service in Scotland.

“However, given how quickly news consumption is changing it is vital that STV evolves to stay competitive, and we are therefore launching a comprehensive change programme – STV News 2020 – that will see us invest in skills, technology and digital as well as delivering cost savings.

“As a result of the challenging economics of local television and anticipated increased competition from BBC Scotland, we have taken the difficult decision to close our loss-making STV2 channel to focus our future content investment on STV and the STV Player.”

He thanked the STV2 team for everything they had achieved.

STV said it would use the cost savings plus other redirected content spending to allocate £15 million for new investments over the next three years, the majority of which will be spent on new original content.

It is placing digital “front and centre” in the organisation by creating a dedicated digital team under a new managing director whose sole focus will be to drive the growth of its online streaming service, STV Player.

It also aims for STV Productions to become one of the UK’s leading production companies, with bases in Glasgow and London.

Mr Pitts said: “We have ambitious growth plans for STV Productions which is well placed to take advantage of the surge in demand for new programming from the nations and regions.

“We will exploit STV’s unique producer-broadcaster status to attract the best creative talent and showcase new formats and ideas for the UK and international markets.

“The STV of 2020 will have creativity as its heart, working in partnership to drive the Scottish economy and showcase Scotland to the world.”