STV's Scotland election coverage to be hit by strike action over pay

"Every NUJ member in the STV newsroom would much rather be broadcasting from election counts rather than having to fight to be paid a fair wage, but they have been left with no choice when the company has decided to spend that money on a new commercial radio station instead. While the company faces financial challenges, none of that is down to the hard-working staff at STV News who produce the most watched evening programme in Scotland."

"The broadcaster's revenues last year fell by 6% to 176.9m, with ad revenue declining by 10% to 89.3m. It blamed a series of shocks last year including a weak economy, rising costs and a challenging advertising market. That led to a dramatic fall in STV's share price, raising the possibility it could be vulnerable to a takeover by Comcast, the US media company that owns Sky, or by ITV."

STV faces strike action from approximately 120 journalists and broadcast staff on election day, organized by the National Union of Journalists and Bectu union. The strikes protest the broadcaster's company-wide pay freeze imposed following a 6% revenue decline to £176.9 million, with advertising revenue dropping 10% to £89.3 million. Staff oppose STV's cost-cutting decisions including personnel reductions and plans to significantly reduce news coverage from northern Scotland, the former Grampian TV region. Simultaneously, STV is investing in launching a new radio station. The broadcaster attributes financial challenges to weak economy, rising costs, and difficult advertising market. Ofcom postponed a merger decision on STV Central and STV North news outputs until after the election. STV's declining share price raises takeover vulnerability from Comcast or ITV.

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