Public broadcaster STV has announced it has upped its stake in Glaswegian production company Hello Halo as it posted strong half year results, saying its order book for new shows is “stronger than ever”.
STV has today struck a new deal to take majority control of Glasgow-based unscripted formats creator, Hello Halo Productions, which recently won a commission from Channel 4. It has increased its stake from 30 per cent to 51 per cent.
The Scottish television group’s post-tax profit soared 115 per cent year on year from £3.3m to £7.1m in the first half of 2024.
Revenue rose 20 per cent to £90.4m in the six months to June 2024, up from £75.3m in the first half of 2023. Net debt also jumped by £11.7m to hit £28m.
STV said the order book for its Studios division is “stronger than ever”, with £101m in programme commissions, including recommissions of hit series such as Criminal Record and Blue Lights.
So far in 2024, 36 new programme commissions have been received, seven more than this time last year. Studios’ full-year performance is also expected to exceed that of 2023.
Euro 2024 helped the company’s streaming service, STV Player, deliver its “most successful first half ever,” while Mr Bates vs The Post Office was the biggest drama across all channels.
Although profit suffered earlier this year due to a flagging TV advertising environment, STV said the ad market has shown good growth so far this year.
Chief executive Simon Pitts said: “Over the last six years, STV has been successfully transformed into a digital-first media company with a high-growth streaming service and one of the UK’s leading television production groups.
He continued: “This strong progress continues in 2024, with revenue and profit both up materially in the first half, reflecting our audience performance, the improving advertising market, and our creative strength in STV Studios, as we continue the successful execution of our growth plan.”