STV has reported a decline in revenue and profit for 2025 as weakness in the UK television advertising market hit its broadcast business, though the company said performance was in line with expectations and supported by cost controls.
Group revenue fell 6% to £176.9 million (€206.5 million), while total advertising revenue declined 10% to £89.3 million (€104.2 million), driven primarily by weaker national linear advertising. Studios revenue proved more resilient, slipping 1% to £83 million (€96.9 million).
Adjusted operating profit fell 44% to £11.6 million (€13.6 million), with the group’s adjusted operating margin narrowing to 6.6% from 11.0% in 2024. Statutory operating profit was £3.8 million (€4.4 million), down from £13.2 million a year earlier.
Both the Audience division – which now brings together broadcast, streaming and audio – and the Studios division reported a 35% decline in adjusted operating profit.
Chief executive Rufus Radcliffe said the broadcaster had responded to challenging market conditions with decisive action to adapt the business.
“Throughout a challenging 2025 for both of our key markets, we acted decisively to adapt the business to rapidly changing conditions and delivered results in line with our latest guidance,” he said.
Radcliffe said the new Audience division is designed to maximise reach and engagement across broadcast, streaming and audio, strengthening the company’s advertising proposition following the launch of STV Radio.
The broadcaster reported record consumption on its streaming platform STV Player, with viewing hours up 9% to 75 million and daily active users rising 10%. The service now reaches 75% of the Scottish population each month, equivalent to around 3.5 million viewers.
STV also strengthened its advertising offering with innovations including pause ads and the STV ADapt targeting platform, with further advertiser products expected to launch in 2026.
In production, STV Studios secured 37 new commissions and recommissions during the year. Projects included the third series of Blue Lights for BBC One and The Witness for Netflix, the studio’s first commission from a global streaming service.
Despite the slowdown, the studio business maintained a forward production orderbook of £33 million (€38.7 million) at the end of December, with no cancellations reported.
Net debt rose to £45.3 million (€53.0 million), up from £38.7 million the previous year, partly reflecting the group’s £4 million loss for the year. The company said leverage remained within banking covenants at 2.5 times.
STV has taken cost-saving measures expected to deliver £8 million (€9.4 million) in annualised savings by the end of FY26. Around £4.1 million has already been achieved across 2024 and 2025.
Given pressure on operating margins and the current debt profile, the board said it would not declare a final dividend for 2025, compared with a full-year dividend of 11.3p in 2024.
Looking ahead, the broadcaster expects total advertising revenue to fall about 5% in the first quarter of 2026, with national linear down around 7% and regional linear down about 11%. Video-on-demand advertising is forecast to grow about 3%.
STV said the FIFA Men’s World Cup later in 2026 could help support advertising demand in the second quarter, alongside new advertising products and major scripted and unscripted productions being delivered for global streaming platforms.
