STV Player launches on Virgin TV

Scottish commercial broadcaster STV has launched its video-on-demand service, STV Player, on Virgin TV set-tops from Liberty Global-owned cable operator Virgin Media.

The move, which follows the signing of a four-year strategic partnership deal between STV and Virgin Media earlier this year, will integrate the STV Player app and STV catch-up programming on Virgin TV set top boxes ahead of the Christmas viewing season.

STV player will offer 30-day catch-up of most content on Virgin Media, with all catch-up content available in HD from the operator’s EPG.

The agreement means that Virgin TV customers will be able to view exclusive regional STV programming on their set top boxes, including STV News at Six and popular current affairs programme, Scotland Tonight, as well as over 1,200 episodes of shows from the STV archives, including Taggart and Rebus.

Virgin TV customers will also be able to view content from STV’s new content partners including pre-school kids TV app Hopster and youth-focused digital broadcaster, Little Dot Studios. STV will be announcing more content partnerships next year.

Separately, Virgin Media will also broadcast STV in HD in all cabled STV regions – Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee – from early next year, replacing the single STV HD service currently available.

Richard Williams, STV’s managing director, digital, said: “We are delighted to be able to enhance our offering to Virgin TV customers right across Scotland as part of this innovative partnership. Launching STV Player on this popular platform means Virgin Media customers in Scotland can access their favourite STV shows however and whenever they want, from I’m a Celebrity to Scotland Tonight to our ever-popular soaps, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.”

David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, said: “The addition of STV Player to the Virgin TV platform gives our customers the full range of STV’s programming on demand for the first time, which is great news for our customers in Scotland. This means our viewers can watch STV on demand in HD at the touch of a button. It’s all part of our continued investment in our Scottish TV customers with more exciting announcements to come.”