STV eyes fresh ITV tie-ups after dispute

Scottish ITV licence holder STV has said that it is exploring ways to collaborate with ITV beyond core TV services after the two companies settled their long-running legal disputes.

Speaking to the Scotsman, STV chief executive Rob Woodward said that STV and ITV are still working out the finer details of their £18 million settlement agreed last month.

He added: "It will cover all areas that bind us together, ranging from programming to online and joint promotion. It is multi-faceted, and it will touch on literally every point of contact between us and ITV."

In his first interview since the settlement was announced, Woodward said that the "fundamental modernisation" of STV's working relationship with ITV would ultimately move beyond the core business of programming, an issue which informed the broadcasters' two-year dispute.

ITV and STV came into conflict in 2009 after Channel 3 operator STV stopped broadcasting a number of high-profile ITV shows funded through a central cash pile managed by the ITV Network.

This was part of STV's strategy to air more Scotland-focused programming, but ITV sued STV in September 2009 to recover estimated net debt of between £15m and £20m of what it claimed were unpaid network budget contributions.

STV immediately countersued ITV for £35m over alleged unpaid advertising income and other operational issues. The broadcaster also later lodged a further £12 million damages claim over unfair exploitation of video on-demand rights.

Under the new settlement, STV now operates as an affiliate to the ITV Network, buying programmes on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. The arrangement reduces STV's operating costs, but Woodward also revealed that some popular ITV shows could come back to the airwaves in Scotland, such as Downton Abbey.

"We keep it under constant review," he said. "It is early days at the moment, and I cannot say anything definite one way or the other, but we will be making decisions in due course."