Strong demand for digital and local programming and a buoyant advertising market underpinned a decent performance from STV (STVG) in 2015. The Scottish television broadcaster's only flop was its production business, which forced it to write off £5.1m in goodwill. But exclude that and other one-off costs and adjusted operating profits rose 4 per cent to £20.3m.
STV - which holds the broadcasting licence for ITV 1 in Scotland - eked out a 1 per cent rise in turnover in its main consumer segment. That reflected higher national and regional advertising sales, as audiences and advertisers embraced its flagship and city-focused channels. Meanwhile, the addition of live viewing to online catch-up service STV Player helped drive digital revenues up by a quarter to £6.6m.