SMG plc
Encyclopedia
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The FTSE Fledgling Index consists of under 200 UK companies outside of the FTSE All-Share Index.This Index is calculated in real-time and published every minute.-Current constituents of the FTSE Fledgling Index:*AEA Technology*AXA Property Trust Ld...
. Originally formed as Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
, it changed its name to Scottish Media Group in 1996 when it acquired Caledonian Publishing, owners of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
-based newspapers The Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
and Evening Times
Evening Times
The Evening Times is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The paper, an evening sister paper of The Herald, was established in 1876. The paper's slogan is "Nobody Knows Glasgow Better"....
(both of which have since been sold). It then went on to acquire the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
licence holder for Northern Scotland, Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
in 1997. In 1999 it launched a new Sunday broadsheet newspaper, the Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...
. The company renamed itself again as "SMG plc" in 2000 by which time it had expanded further through the acquisitions of Primesight (outdoor advertising), Pearl & Dean (cinema advertising) and Ginger Media Group, which included Ginger Television and the UK radio station, Virgin Radio. In recent years the group has contracted again, having sold the outdoor advertising, cinema advertising and radio businesses in order to reduce debt and concentrate on television.
On 24 June 2008, shortly after the sale of Virgin Radio, SMG plc announced another name change - this time to STV Group plc. The company says the name change is to highlight its renewed focus on television, encompassing the STV Central
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
and STV North
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
franchises and the company's production business.
The new STV Group branding was introduced on 1 October 2008.
ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
held a 16.9% stake in the business, which was reduced to around 5.5% following a rights issue
Rights issue
A rights issue is an issue of additional shares by a company to raise capital under a seasoned equity offering. The rights issue is a special form of shelf offering or shelf registration. With the issued rights, existing shareholders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new shares from...
.
STV
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
, which covers Central Scotland, and Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
, covering Northern Scotland.
On 2 March 2006, it was announced that Scottish Television would revert to using its former brand name of "STV", which it previously used from the start of colour broadcasting in 1969 until 30 August 1985, and which the station is still informally known as in parts of Scotland. Scottish Television became known as STV Central. At the same time, Grampian Television would also become known as STV North, with the one main identity of STV serving the two licences. The rebrand took place on 30 May 2006. The stations broadcast a mix of network programming such as Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and The X Factor
The X Factor (TV series)
The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...
and imported output including Underbelly
Underbelly (TV series)
Underbelly is a 13-part Australian television mini-series that retells the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne, and is the first series in the larger Underbelly Franchise. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival,...
alongside local programming such as STV News at Six
STV News at Six
STV News at Six is a Scottish regional news programme, covering the two STV franchise areas of Northern and Central Scotland, produced by STV Central in the Central region and STV North in the Northern region.The programmes were launched on Monday 23 March 2009, replacing Scotland Today in...
, Scotland Tonight
Scotland Tonight
Scotland Tonight is a Scottish news and current affairs programme, covering the two STV franchise areas of Northern and Central Scotland, produced by STV News...
and STV Rugby
STV Rugby
STV Rugby is a Scottish regional television programme featuring highlights of RaboDirect Pro12 rugby matches involving Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors...
.
Other channels
The former SMG plc ran its own digital channel, S2, throughout the Scottish and Grampian ITV regions. S2, which aired on the Digital Terrestrial platform, was launched on 30 April 1999 and was replaced by ITV2ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
just over two years later - as part of a deal with ITV Digital
ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network as ONdigital in 1998 and briefly re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001, before the service ceased in May 2002. Its main shareholders...
- on 27 July 2001.
Sky Scottish
Sky Scottish
Sky Scottish was a short lived satellite television channel operating on the analogue Sky TV service for 18 months ....
was a satellite television channel operating on the analogue Sky TV service between 1 November 1996 and 31 May 1998. The service was a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
and the Scottish Media Group. It initially broadcast between 6.00pm and 8.00pm in Scotland. The channel was closed due to poor ratings.
A high-definition channel, STV HD, launched on 6 June 2010.
STV Productions
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for all UK terrestrial networks as well as key satellite and cable channels.
Ginger Productions
Ginger Productions, alongside STV Productions, is part of the network production arm of STV Group plc. Based in Waterhouse Square in London, its output focuses on Entertainment and Factual Entertainment.Ginger was acquired as part of SMG's acquisition of the Ginger Media Group in 1999.
STV Creative
STV Creative is the company's commercial production division, based in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
.
Solutions
Solutions is STV's production resources division, providing facilities for studios, outside broadcasts, post-production, corporate events and commercial productions.Radio
Up until May 2008, the company owned Virgin Radio, a BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
commercial music
Music radio
Music radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Virgin Radio was launched as 'Virgin 1215' nationally on 1215 kHz (although some regional transmitters used other frequencies) at 12.15pm on 30 April 1993 by Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
as part of his Virgin
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
brand. It was sold to Ginger Media (which was subsequently bought by SMG plc) but retained the Virgin name at the time.
On 12 April 2007, it was announced that SMG planned to sell Virgin Radio, to enable the company to focus on its television station, STV. Virgin Radio was finally sold to a group led by The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
for £53million on 30 May 2008.
Advertising
STV Group plc owned cinema advertiser Pearl & DeanPearl & Dean
Pearl & Dean is primarily known as a British cinema advertising company. It was founded in 1953 by brothers Ernie and Charles Pearl, and Bob Dean....
, whose rival Digital Cinema Media
Digital Cinema Media
Digital Cinema Media is an advertising company first formed in July 2008 by Cineworld Group plc and Odeon Cinemas Ltd. The firm supplies cinema advertisements to both of the company's cinema chains....
was owned by ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
when it was known as Carlton Screen Advertising
Carlton Screen Advertising
Carlton Screen Advertising is the main cinema advertising company in Ireland. The company is owned by Dermot Hanrahan.-History:Carlton Screen Advertising was established in 1996 when Carlton Communications purchased the cinema advertising company Cinema Media , then owned by a venture capital...
.
They also formerly owned outdoor billboard advertiser Primesight.
In 2006, SMG plc announced it plans to sell off Pearl & Dean and Primesight.
In August 2007, SMG finally sold Primesight for up to £62m to a private equity firm. SMG said in a statement that the price GMT Communications Partners is paying represents a "clear uplift" on offers previously received for Primesight. Primesight have been prosecuted a number of times for the display of advertisements without consent which is an offence under UK Planning Acts. The lack of consent for many of Primesight's displays is said to have reduced the selling price by up to £30 million.
Pearl & Dean has been sold for £1 (subject to shareholder approval) on 21 April 2010 to Image Ltd, a company backed by Thomas Anderson, a Director of Empire Cinemas
Empire Cinemas
Empire Cinemas Limited is a multiplex cinema chain in the UK. There are 17 Empire Cinemas with 141 screens in total, including the flagship Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, London which hosts various film premières and first-runs.-Ownership & Management:...
.
stv.tv
The URL stv.tvStv.tv
www.stv.tv is the URL of the website of the Scottish television channel, STV. The website currently offers the usual sections of News, Sport, Entertainment, Weather, Competitions, Forums and STV programme information, with TV listings...
is the address of the main website of STV. The website currently offers News, Sport, Weather, Entertainment, Competitions, and STV programme information, and TV listings.
stv.tv/local
STV Local is a Scottish network of hyper-local, community-based websites. Pilot sites have been launched in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh, Moray and North & South Lanarkshire . The plan is to have a Scotland-wide network of sites up and running by late-2011/early-2012.stv.tv/player
STV PlayerSTV Player
The STV Player is a website based video on demand service accessible though the main STV website and separately in the distinct domain name stvplayer.tv. Current programmes are available for 30 days after transmission on the main STV channel, with archive programming available longer-term...
is the video section of the main stv.tv website. It offers catchup of regular STV programming, along with archive STV programmes and exclusive videos.
stvholidays.com
STV Holidays was launched in 2011, in association with Barrhead Travel. The website offers cheap holidays, cruises and city breaks - departing from Scotland, and around the UK.stvlivecasino.com
STV Live Casino was launched by STV Group plc in July 2011, with technical partner VueTec.The game brings live gaming action from the casino floor, in real time and from real casino tables. VueTec technology allows online players to view all the casino action live on their computers, with the wheel and cards being spun and dealt in real time.
Studios
Cowcaddens
Cowcaddens is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is virtually in the city centre and is bordered by the areas of Garnethill to the south and Townhead to the east....
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
since Scottish Television's launch in 1957, but moved to new studios in Pacific Quay
Pacific Quay
Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located at the former Plantation Quay and Princes' Dock Basin. The Princes' Dock Basin was the largest on the River Clyde when it was opened in 1900. It ceased to be used in the 1970s as the volume of Shipping using the...
, a development situated next to the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, in July 2006, alongside BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
's new studios and the Glasgow Science Centre
Glasgow Science Centre
Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a purpose-built science centre composed of three principal buildings which are the Science Mall, an IMAX cinema and the Glasgow Tower...
. STV Group's Aberdeen studios moved to a new purpose-built site in the city's Tullos
Tullos
Tullos is an area of Torry, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland. The area takes its name from the Vale of Tullos which lies between Tullos Hill and Torry Hill. Tullos derived its name from a corruption of the Gaelic ‘Tulach’ meaning a hill....
area in 2003, from their previous location (a converted tram shed), which they occupied since Grampian launched in 1961.
STV also has studios in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
and Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
providing regional news coverage in their particular area.
Relationship with ITV plc
STV Group plc has had a turbulent relationship with ITV plcITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
and both Carlton
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
and Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, the predecessor companies that merged to create it. ITV plc owns the ITV franchises in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Southern Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
and the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
) and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. ITV plc also operates a number of digital channels and websites under the ITV brand. The company threatened to take legal action over the use of the name 'ITV' because it is the name of the Independent Television network, which STV Central
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
and STV North
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
are both part of. One of the problems facing the group is that ITV is the senior partner when it comes to its two TV stations, since London-based ITV effectively controls most of the scheduling and is also responsible for selling STV's advertising airtime. Rumours persist of a possible takeover of STV Group plc by ITV plc (see below).
In September 2009, ITV plc announced it was to launch legal proceedings against STV for a quoted unpaid debt of £38 million from network programming contributions, following STV's practice of dropping a number of network programmes on the STV franchise. At the same time, STV claimed it is also following procedures against ITV plc, for up to £40 million owed to STV under its advertising sales agreements.
Merger proposals
In September 2006, the then SMG officially rejected a merger offer from Northern IrishNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
ITV franchise holder UTV. The merger approach from would have given SMG shareholders a 52% stake in the combined company. The Scottish group said its board had examined a revised merger proposal from UTV, but did not believe it reflected the value of the company.
In 2006 ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
considered making an offer for STV Group, according to the Mail on Sunday
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. The newspaper quoted an ITV source as saying John Cresswell, acting chief executive at the broadcaster, was most interested in the group's television franchises but that any deal would be for the whole group, including Virgin Radio, which SMG also owns. An ITV spokesman declined to comment on the report.
SMG said earlier in the month that its 2006 profit would be materially behind expectations, sending its shares down more than a quarter in value to a 15-year low.
On 10 January 2007, SMG and Belfast-based UTV agreed the details of their merger, including a revised share split between the two. UTV, would own 54% of the group. SMG would take the remaining 46%.
This merger was finally rejected at the end of February, and a new board and management were introduced at SMG shortly afterwards. The company announced plans to concentrate on its core TV business, floating off Virgin Radio and selling Pearl & Dean and Primesight.
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