Does it matter whether a Channel 3 licence is locally owned or run independently?
I ask because the recent collapse of STV’s share price – linked to the advertising and commissioning downturns – has reopened the possibility of ITV plc buying the Scottish stations.
Nothing has been said or done by ITV plc to suggest it Is about to make a move.
But STV is only worth around £60 million on the stock market just now. STV looks vulnerable to a takeover bid, like any company with a depressed share price.
So does it matter if STV is bought over by ITV? Or is the issue effective regulation to ensure a proper regional service?
It is now 10 years since ITV bought UTV.
The only big change on screen has been to the branding along with the end of local continuity.
Local output is as strong as at any time in recent years – arguably stronger.
The only significant change to output after the takeover involved the end of the late night news programme UTV Live Tonight and its replacement by the weekly political programme View from Stormont.
The rest of the regional output is varied – indeed there’s currently a 2 hour block on Tuesday nights including some repeats.
Of course, the legal obligations are observed over the year – individual weeks see peaks and troughs or occasional feasts and famines.
Arguably the output pre-2015 had become too dependent on topical studio output including news and a few favourites like Lesser Spotted Ulster.
Yes, Havelock House has gone but this is part of a wider industry tend.
Across in Scotland, STV’s local output is limited.
The hours are made up mostly with the studio-based current affairs programme Scotland Tonight and the magazine What’s On Scotland.
Both deserve a place in the schedule. But the days of a diverse regional schedule for STV viewers are long gone.
There is one crucial part of STV’s provision which deserves praise.
The main news bulletins for the former Grampian TV region are still presented from Aberdeen.
STV has never copied ITV and recorded entire programmes at hubs, in the way the Border news is presented from Tyne Tees.
But with STV looking for £750,000 of savings can this option be discounted?
The company abruptly ended the co-presentation of the main central belt bulletin from Edinburgh last year.
There are rumours a new look to the news service is due within weeks but nothing has been confirmed publicly.
All in all, I am not sure a takeover would result in major changes for viewers.
I suspect, there’d even be a degree of respect for STV in any rebrand just as the UTV name has been downplayed and superseded cautiously.
As for ownership, the overwhelming majority of STV’s shares are owned by investment funds – not local interests or individuals based within Scotland.
Regionalism is an important part of public service broadcasting across the UK. The death of local non-news output in the English regions is to be regretted.
But Ofcom still ensures Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are treated as nations with a higher level of output.
A takeover of STV would not change that.
STV could well recover on the stock market. It has been prematurely written off on a number of occasions.
The final consolidation of C3, if it happens, may not be a cause for celebration.
But the practical realities mean it need not be a cause for worry either.
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