YouTube strikes broadcast deal with STV
Broadcaster STV and YouTube have agreed a major content deal which will see STV make at least 2,500 hours of content, both new and existing, available for viewing via YouTube.
The free STV Player channel on YouTube will launch later this summer and will be found in the TV shows section on YouTube as well as on its own dedicated channel www.youtube.com/stvplayer.
As part of the deal, a number of STV programmes will be available shortly after TV transmission as a 'catch-up' service, including new shows such as Lorraine Kelly's Scotland's Missing Mums and the second series of Australian hit show Underbelly. These will run alongside archive material, including High Road, Weir's Way, High Times and even as far back as STV's very first programme from 1957 This Is Scotland.
STV is the third UK broadcaster, after Channel4 and Five, to make its catch-up service available via YouTube.
Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV, said: "We are thrilled to enter a strategic partnership with YouTube, making our content available to a wide audience across the UK and beyond. This deal forms an integral part of our STV Anywhere initiative ensuring that our content can be accessed by the widest possible audience."