STV has announced plans to cut around 60 roles, representing about 10% of its workforce as part of a cost savings programme.
The Scottish broadcaster aims to save around £3 million per year.
It intends to merge its northern and central news programmes into a single pan-regional edition that would be presented from Glasgow. The move would require requires regulatory approval from Ofcom, and a consultation process will follow.
The move to consolidate regional news will be sensitive politically and with Ofcom. BBC Scotland also runs a pan-regional news service.
“We recognise that our cost savings programme impacts colleagues across the business, and we are committed to supporting people through this change. These steps are necessary to strengthen our financial resilience and position STV for long-term growth,” said Rufus Radcliffe, STV Chief Executive.
The move comes after a 10% year-on-year decline in advertising revenue in the first half of the year. National linear ad declines were particularly steep.
Total revenue held at £90 million for the half year but STV fell into a post-tax loss, from a profit of £7.1 million in H1 2024 to a loss of £0.3m. Operating profit fell 49% from £6.5 million to £3.3 million.
As part of the cost-saving programme, STV will stop development activity in its STV Studios Entertainment division, and cease further investment in labels like Mighty Productions and Style Fixers. However, its overall studios business is still securing commissions: in H1 2025, STV Studios won 30 new commissions, and studios revenue rose by13%.
STV Player delivered highest ever H1 viewing, up 8% year on year to 37 million hours.
