Scottish broadcaster SMG has announced plans to launch several new digital TV channels.

The company, which owns ITV regional stations STV and Grampian, is keen to get a foothold in the competitive multichannel market with some new UK-wide stations.

"We need a digital TV presence," Sean Duffy, SMG's business development manager, told the Sunday Herald. "We are going to be announcing something in the next couple of months. We are very active at the moment in this area, but I would not like to say [a launch] is going to be three months, six months or nine months."

He added that a decision on the number of channels - or even the content they would provide - had not yet been finalised, although a sport offering was categorically ruled out.