The Scotland-based video-on-demand portal is continuing its transformation from a regional catch-up service into a major streaming platform.
Over 650 hours of new programming have been added to the STV Player, with shows including the US thriller Ice, period drama Pan Am and TV classics including Hart to Hart and Party of Five. This follows two major content deals with Entertainment One (eOne) and Sony Pictures Television (SPT).
The new additions follow the recent expansion of the STV Player across the UK during the past year. The service is now available in over three quarters of UK homes with connected TVs / streaming devices. There are now over 150 box sets to watch via the STV Player. Around 50 of these are drama series.
Drama from eOne includes both series of US thriller Ice, which stars Ray Winstone and explores the ruthless world of the diamond trade. Other additions include sci-fi spin-off Primeval: New World, Thandie Newton-starring crime series Rogue, and comedy-drama Hindsight.
The SPT deal adds glamorous period drama Pan Am – starring Christina Ricci and Margot Robbie. Legal dramas Notorious and Canterbury’s Law, and British three-parter The Ice Cream Girls, which follows the story of two teenagers accused of murdering their schoolteacher (Martin Compston) are also added to the STV Player.
Other titles from the SPT library include cult classic Hart to Hart, memorably starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. Nineties nostalgia trip Party of Five and chilling thriller Kidnapped are now also available to stream for free.
On top of that, STV confirmed it has also signed deals with:
- Beyond Rights – reality, medical and true crime programming, including Handsome Devils and Hitched in Vegas
- Canamedia – property and paranormal titles, including Top Million Dollar Agent and Ghost Dimension
- Flame – factual entertainment programming, including Canadian reality hit Drag Heals
- Espresso Media – a series of gripping new true crime documentaries
Increased availability
Throughout 2020, STV Player launched across the UK on Sky Q, Now TV, Freeview Play and Virgin Media.
STV Player started off as the catch-up service of Scottish broadcaster STV, which operates the channel 3 service in Scotland (except those parts of Scotland in the Border TV region). North of the border, the platform continues to offer channel 3 network content including Coronation Street and The Masked Singer. In the rest of the UK it’s exclusively a destination for over 3,000 hours of free drama, sport and factual-entertainment programmes.
STV Player’s audience grew by 68% in 2020, making it the fastest-growing broadcaster streaming platform in the UK.
Richard Williams, Managing Director of Digital at STV, said:
“We extended our partnership with Sky at the end of last year, which means that STV Player is now available on all major platforms across the UK and our addressable audience has significantly increased. Dropping over 650 hours of new content seems like the perfect way to welcome our new viewers.”
[STV Press Office]