STV Player is a
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service owned by
STV Group
STV Group plc (formerly known as Scottish Television plc, Scottish Media Group plc and SMG plc) is a media company based in Glasgow, Scotland. Beginning as a television broadcaster in 1957, the company expanded into newspapers, advertising and r ...
and available free-of-charge across the UK, online, on mobile and on all major TV platforms, including
Sky Glass
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
,
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connecte ...
,
Roku
Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services.
The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...
,
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
,
Android TV
Android TV is a smart TV operating system based on Android (operating system), Android and developed by Google for television sets, digital media players, set-top boxes, and soundbars. A successor to Google TV (operating system), Google TV, it fe ...
,
Freeview Play
Freeview is the United Kingdom's sole Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom, digital terrestrial television platform. It is operated by Digital UK Ltd and DTV Services Ltd, a joint venture between the BBC, ITV plc, ITV, Channel ...
and
Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...
.
Officially launched in July 2009 following a
soft launch
A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it widely ...
the previous year, STV Player was initially established as an online
catch-up service for viewers of the
STV channel in Scotland. The platform has since rolled out UK-wide as an advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) service with a focus on international drama box sets. In February 2019, STV Player+ was launched, allowing viewers with a monthly subscription to stream and download Player content without
pre-roll or mid-roll advertising.
In January 2021, after launching on
Sky Q
Sky Q is a subscription-based television and entertainment service operated by British satellite television provider Sky, as a part of its operations in Austria and Germany, Ireland, Italy and in the UK. The name also refers to the Sky Q set-t ...
in all four regions of the UK the previous month, STV Player reported that its monthly active user base had grown by a fifth and online viewing on the platform had doubled year-on-year. It was nominated for "best on demand service of the year" at the
Edinburgh International Television Festival
The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in the United Kingdom each August which brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry.
The Festival ...
's annual awards ceremony in 2021.
Programming
STV Player provides a combination of
Channel 3 network content such as ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'',
''The Masked Singer'' and
''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', home-grown productions such as ''
Scotland Tonight
''Scotland Tonight'' is a Scottish news and current affairs programme, covering the two STV franchise areas of Northern and Central Scotland, produced by STV News. The programme is presented by ''STV News at Six'' Central anchor John MacKay on ...
'' and ''
Taggart
''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...
,'' and international drama box sets including
''The Bridge'',
''Janet King'' and
''Ice''. Channel 3 network content is not available to viewers outside Scotland, as
ITVX
ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) is a British online video-on-demand service operated by ITV plc, ITV. The service offers predominantly features content from ITV1, as well as ITV Digital Channels, ITV Digital channels and some licensed content. The serv ...
owns the rights to show this in
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom.
ITV plc is listed on the ...
regions.
In April 2020, STV announced plans to provide every episode of classic soap opera ''
Take the High Road
''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the ficti ...
'', produced by its production arm
STV Studios
STV Studios (previously STV Productions, SMG Productions, and originally known as Scottish Television Enterprises) is the television production arm of the STV Group plc. Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, and with an office in London, England ...
between 1980 and 2003, on STV Player.
A content deal with distributor
Banijay
Banijay (formerly Banijay Entertainment and later Banijay Group) is a French television production and distribution company which is the world's largest international content producer and distributor with over 120 production companies across 22 ...
in July 2021, described at the time as STV Player's "biggest ever", brought over 1,200 hours of new drama and factual programming to the platform for viewers across the UK.
Capacity issues
In April 2014, STV Player experienced downtime during its broadcast of ''
Salmond & Darling: The Debate''—the first televised debate for the
2014 Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...
. STV had secured exclusive rights to the broadcast, and refused to offer it to any other broadcaster (including the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
did not choose to pick up the live airing of the debate across the rest of the UK (excluding the
region), leading to higher-than-anticipated demand for the internet stream. STV apologized for the capacity problems, while
aired the full debate broadcast the next day.
...