STV Group PLC STV Player signs biggest-ever content deal

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STV Group PLC

15 July 2021

Thursday 15 July

STV Player signs with Banijay Rights for biggest-ever content deal

-- 1200 hours of new drama and factual content to be added to the free platform as part of major deal with Banijay Rights

   --    Streaming service announces 94% rise in streams for H1 2021, with total online viewing up 66% 
   --    Streams in June up 163% year on year, with online viewing up 370%, driven by Euro 2020 

-- STV's Richard Williams: "We've gained a clearer idea of what our viewers want ... this deal taps right into that."

STV Player today announces its biggest content deal to date, after partnering with Banijay Rights to bring over 1200 hours of new programming to the free streaming service.

The content will be dropped on the platform over the next twelve months and will primarily comprise high-end drama and compelling factual series from around the world.

The first batch is due to go live in early August and will include titles such as Scandi-noir thriller Beck; French murder mystery Malaterra, based on the successful British series Broadchurch; and two acclaimed Australian series, The Time of our Lives and Tangle, which both focus on the trials and tribulations of chaotic Melbourne families.

The Banijay deal also brings more big names to STV Player, including Olivia Colman and Vanessa Redgrave (who both star in The Thirteenth Tale), Frank Grillo and Nick Jonas (Kingdom) and Rowan Atkinson (The Thin Blue Line).

In Scotland, STV Player is the on-demand home of Channel 3 network content. Across the UK, it's one of the country's fastest-growing AVODs, with an ever-expanding library of free content correlating with a significant surge in consumption.

In the first half of 2021 (1 January - 30 June), streams have grown 94% and total online viewing is up 66% compared with the same time period last year. After launching on all major platforms at the end of 2020, STV Player increased its addressable audience more than tenfold to 50 million adults.

In June, the platform celebrated its best-performing day since launching in 2009, achieving over one million streams in a single day for the first time ever. Streams grew by 163%, with online viewing up 370% during June alone, fuelled by Euro 2020 and weekly soap drops. In the same month, free rewards service STV Player VIP was launched, which offers viewers personalised content recommendations, new prizes every month, and no pre-roll adverts so they can access content without delay.

Richard Williams, Managing Director, Digital at STV, said: "As STV Player has continued to grow its audience across the country, we've gained a clearer idea of what our viewers want from the service. This significant deal with Banijay taps right into that, with hundreds of hours of unmissable drama set to drop on STV Player in the coming months.

"The VOD world is constantly evolving and, as a relatively new player in this field, it's important for us to have a niche. We're delighted to be building our reputation as a free provider of big, star-studded dramas, along with popular overseas titles that viewers in the UK are unlikely to discover anywhere else."

Chris Stewart, SVP UK and Eire, Banijay Rights, said: "This landmark deal extends our partnership with STV and provides viewers on-demand access to a fantastic selection of premium drama and factual content, some of which is available in the UK for the first time."

ENDS

Media Contacts

Kirstin Stevenson, STV - [e-mail]

Andrew Dickens, VP Press, Banijay Rights

[e-mail]

About Banijay Rights

Leading independent global distributor, Banijay Rights, represents a world-class, multi-genre portfolio of over 100,000 hours of standout programming. Leading distribution for the largest international creator and producer, Banijay, the division handles the exploitation of some of the planet's best scripted and non-scripted brands.

Representing quality, excellence and experience in the business of linear and non-linear television and ancillary activity across all platforms, Banijay Rights' catalogue encompasses a host of top titles from Banijay's 120+ in-house labels, and a number of third-party producers, spanning drama, comedy, entertainment, factual, reality, family, formats and theatrical.

Delivering high-quality IP, which was born locally and travels globally, the distributor offers the best stories told the best way. Its landmark brands include Survivor, Big Brother, MasterChef, Temptation Island, Grantchester, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Deal or No Deal, Versailles, Biggest Loser, Home and Away, Money Drop, Mr Bean and Black Mirror.

Built on independence, creative freedom, entrepreneurialism and commercial acumen, Banijay Rights operates under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Cathy Payne.

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July 15, 2021 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT)