STV

STV runs an owned-and-operated media ecosystem. It aggregates consumer audiences through broadcast television, streaming and digital news, then monetises that attention via advertising sales, sponsorships and cross-platform inventory packages. Alongside this audience business, it operates a production arm that creates scripted, entertainment and factual programming for third-party broadcasters and streaming services, generating revenue from commissions, co-productions and IP licensing. This combination gives STV both audience monetisation and content supply revenue streams.

STV is a UK-listed media company with a strong Scottish focus. Its core operations span a regional commercial broadcast channel, the free ad-supported STV Player streaming service, the STV News digital publishing platform, the STV Studios production business, and STV Commercial, which sells advertising and sponsorship across linear and digital inventory. In practice, it operates as both a publisher and media owner and as a media sales organisation for its owned audience assets.

The group makes money through a hybrid model: selling advertising across linear TV, video-on-demand and digital news properties; producing and licensing television content through STV Studios; and generating a smaller layer of subscription income from STV Player. Its paying customers therefore include advertisers and agencies, broadcasters and streaming platforms that commission content, and a smaller base of consumers who may pay for premium streaming access.