Stvg Regulatory News (STVG)

PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

STV PLAYER LAUNCHES ON VIRGIN TV IN TIME FOR

I'M A CELEBRITY FINAL

7 December 2018

STV has today announced that its leading VOD service, STV Player, has launched on Virgin TV set top boxes.

The news forms part of a four-year strategic partnership between STV and Virgin Media, announced earlier this year, which will create increased value for both businesses and offer a significantly enhanced viewing experience for Scottish Virgin TV customers.

In a first for Virgin TV customers, the launch will integrate the STV Player app and STV catch-up programming on Virgin TV set top boxes - with the service available in time for the highly anticipated final of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and the forthcoming Christmas schedule.

Among many benefits for Virgin TV customers, the STV Player will offer longer availability of catch-up, with STV content typically available for 30 days. All catch-up content will be available in HD and straight from the EPG.

Virgin TV customers will have access to exclusive regional STV programming on their set top boxes, including STV News at Six and popular current affairs programme, Scotland Tonight, as well as over 1,200 episodes of classic shows from the STV archives, including ever-popular detective shows Taggart and Rebus.

In addition, customers will be able to enjoy additional free content from STV's exciting new content partners, including award-winning pre-school kids TV app Hopster and youth-focused digital broadcaster, Little Dot Studios. STV will be announcing more content partnerships next year.

Richard Williams, STV's Managing Director, Digital, said: "We are delighted to be able to enhance our offering to Virgin TV customers right across Scotland as part of this innovative partnership.

"Launching STV Player on this popular platform means Virgin Media customers in Scotland can access their favourite STV shows however and whenever they want, from I'm a Celebrity to Scotland Tonight to our ever-popular soaps, Coronation Street and Emmerdale."

David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: "The addition of STV player to the Virgin TV platform gives our customers the full range of STV's programming on demand for the first time, which is great news for our customers in Scotland. This means our viewers can watch STV on demand in HD at the touch of a button. It's all part of our continued investment in our Scottish TV customers with more exciting announcements to come."

As part of the long-term STV/Virgin Media partnership, Virgin TV will also broadcast STV in HD in all cabled STV regions (Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee) from early 2019 on EPG slot 103, replacing the single STV HD service currently available.

Ends

For further information, please contact the STV press office:

Anna Hendry

0141 300 3830

 anna.hendry@stv.tv

Katie Martin

0141 300 3109

katie.martin@stv.tv 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About STV

STV is Scotland's leading digital media brand, providing consumers with quality content on air, online and on demand.

STV's digital business incorporates Scotland's most popular commercial media website, stv.tv, and includes an enhanced digital news app serving consumers local, national and international news as well as features, sport and weather in one place. The STV Player offers consumers within STV's licence areas in Scotland the opportunity to enjoy programmes live or on catch-up. With 2.8m registered users, the STV Player now reaches over two thirds of Scottish adults.

STV's broadcast channel reaches 3.5 million viewers each month with first class programming including soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street, big drama productions, entertainment hits The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, strong home-grown productions and the most comprehensive local news service in the UK.

STV Productions is one of the UK's leading content businesses with ambitious plans for domestic and international growth. The company has a record of success across a range of genres, including drama, entertainment and factual, producing programmes for a variety of broadcasters. Highlights include entertainment show Catchphrase for ITV, ratings winner Antiques Road Trip for BBC One and documentaries Britain's Polar Bear Cub for Channel 4, Ross Kemp Behind Bars - Inside Barlinnie for ITV and Prison: First & Last 24 Hours for Sky1. In drama, four part thriller The Victim is due for transmission on BBC One, and STV Productions has also confirmed a second BBC commission - 90 minute drama Elizabeth is Missing.

STV content is available across platforms including iOS, Android, YouView and Samsung Smart TV.

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.

Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we're expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which could extend our network to up to 17 million premises.

Our interactive Virgin TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones.

Virgin Mobile launched the world's first virtual mobile network and offers fantastic value and innovative services with 4G connectivity. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world's largest international TV and broadband company. Liberty Global connects 21 million customers through operations in 10 countries across Europe subscribing to 45 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services. It also serves 6 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service through 12 million access points across its footprint.