STV to focus on mobile delivery with new local news, events and offers platform
STV's follow up online news and content delivery service will focus on mobile delivery it's head of digital publishing has confirmed.
Speaking to The Drum, David Milne described the commercial boardcaster's Local and Metro pilots, which included STV Local, an online portal for local news delivery across Scotland as "an important part" of its delivery of local news and information which he promised would be continued through its next project.
"Both projects generated positive feedback and helped define the foundations of our new city services. We definitely view Local and Metro as successful projects and fantastic pilots for what will come next," he continued before explaining that the projects helped the company to evolve its local products, such as its editorial, engagement and commercial insights.
"We experimented with various models of community engagement in the pilots – some successful and others less so – and we’ll take this experience forward into our new city services."
As to what the company has taken from the three-year-long STV Local pilot, Milne explained: "We have learned from the experience of Local and Metro and understand our audiences want to consume content that is relevant and engaging to where they live on their mobile devices.
"Two thirds of STV’s online traffic now comes through mobile devices and the new city services, covering Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, are designed around mobile consumption. All will be available to download for free as Apps on iOS and Android while also being available as new-look desktop versions. The new city services will cover the majority of the Scottish population. They will focus on what’s going on in each city each day, from gigs to new restaurant openings to community events and all the latest news and pictures. People will be at the heart of the experience, with many opportunities to get involved."
STV announced in July that it planned to launch its "next generation" of content delivery, which would include the use of video to deliver news, offers and events across Scotland's largest cities.
The new platform is expected to go live this Autumn.