STV Group sees small rise in Q1 ad revenue

STV Group said on Tuesday that it expects to report a small rise in total advertising revenue for the first quarter as it continues to perform in line with expectations and the guidance given at its last trading update in February.

First-quarter advertising revenue across national, regional and digital is expected to be up 1% to 2%, an increase the group attributed to increasing resilience in the ad market. Within that, national advertising revenue is expected to be ahead of previous guidance, down 1% to 2%, while regional ad revenue is seen up 20% to 25% thanks to the ongoing success of the STV Growth Fund which has now partnered with more than 130 Scottish advertisers.

Digital revenues are expected to be 15% to 20% higher on the back of strong growth from STV Player and the company said its production business continues to perform in line with expectations, with revenues secured by the end of the first quarter equivalent to over 60% of the total achieved last year.

Chief executive officer Simon Pitts said: "We have made a strong start to 2019, with TV and online viewing levels continuing their positive momentum from 2018 and total advertising revenue also growing, demonstrating STV's increasing resilience in the advertising market even in an uncertain economic climate.

"Our STV Growth Fund goes from strength to strength, underpinning strong regional advertising sales and bringing new advertisers to television for the first time.

"We are immensely proud of our new Scottish drama series - The Victim - which aired on BBC1 earlier this month to huge critical and popular acclaim and represents just the sort of landmark programming we want to do more of in future."

STV also confirmed that Lindsay Dixon will take up her role as chief financial officer on 21 May, with George Wyatt stepping down on 30 April.

At 1320 BST, the shares were down 1.9% at 375.12p.