BROADCASTER STV said today that it is "encouraged" by latest advertising revenues, which are falling less dramatically than the wider ITV network.
The firm said that its regional advertising revenues declined by 12 per cent in the second quarter of the year, an improvement on the 19 per cent decline for the half year and better than ITV's 19 per cent second quarter decline.
STV also today
announced that it has won its first ever series commission from the BBC. Work has already started on Antiques Road Trip, a 20-part daytime series for early peak time on BBC Two.
In a statement, the firm said: "We are delighted to be working with the Corporation, which will see us potentially sharing facilities, training, pictures, technology and archive programmes."
However, STV also revealed that it is facing losses of up to £200,000 following the collapse of Setanta in the UK. The Irish broadcaster, which went into administration earlier this week, used some STV facilities to help produce its Scottish football coverage.
The company said it is awaiting confirmation of a Taggart commission for 2009, although it noted that, given the "strong performance" of the popular series, it is "confident" about its future.
Rob Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of STV, praised the latest statistics and development plans. He said: "STV continues to take control of its destiny and we have maintained positive momentum through 2009.
"We have secured a significant new commission from the BBC and have a healthy pipeline of other key projects in development.
"On screen we continue to take greater control of our own schedule, producing more home-grown programming and our online business continues to grow."
Statistics for the STV website show that it is also growing in line with the company's expectations. There are already 100,000 registered users and dedicated city sites have now been launched.
By late summer the company promised it will have dedicated sites for all of Scotland's main towns and cities. It added: "Although only launched in February, stvjobs.com, our classified recruitment website, continues to build its position in the Scottish classified market."
STV also announced that it has been granted the same benefits as independent producers during the Digital switchover.
In a statement, STV added: "The national advertising market continues to be challenging, however, we are encouraged by regional advertising revenues which have improved significantly since the first quarter."
