Presumably STV want to do a debate before the Scottish elections, but that involves opting out of the network for an hour or two. You don't want to opt out of a big drama or LE show that you then have to reschedule, so you're a bit limited, and an England match seems the most sensible time to opt out. They'll be showing the highlights, won't they?
:-(
A former member
But this programme equals to STV required quota of locally broadcast tv in "prime time" I bet there was no other free slots, and this was the best one to go for.
STV isn't showing the England game on TV. It's instead showing an election debate show. It is apparently going to offer the game on its website.
Can't see this as a good move to be honest. I imagine there will be a theory that most people in Scotland will want to watch the Scotland game, so therefore the natural audience wouldn't be there for the England game. However, the Scotland game will be on pay-TV and it's not a good idea to get people in the mindset that you can't rely on the channel for a type of match, they will just go to ITV by habit in future.
If STV was saving any money by not showing it fair enough, but they're now in a new affiliate deal and it's on the website, so it can't be that.
Perhaps they're being a public service broadcaster. Seems quite sensible for a Scottish channel to opt out of an English event for an event specifically aimed at a Scottish audience. They've made the match available elsewhere for those that want it, plus highlights later in the evening. Worth remembering too that until the affiliation deal they didn't show them at all, so it's not like it's a new situation.
As an aside in the Border Scotland region the debate is on ITV in SD and the match on ITV HD. That's mainly as a consequence of the larger HD regions, but actually seemed a rather sensible compromise. I wonder if it was referred to in continuity.
:-(
A former member
Good to see ITV border Political editor Peter MacMahon is in the press room, along side Colin.
Judging by the slating that STV has received by showing the England games, when not showing any Scotland games at all, I think this was the right decision to make.
What's continuity like on ITV Border when it takes content from STV and things like Reporting Border? Is it still played out from London as normal or are things more complicated?
What's continuity like on ITV Border when it takes content from STV and things like Reporting Border? Is it still played out from London as normal or are things more complicated?
Am I the only one that's noticing how STV seems to be running a paid advertisement right now? Either that or they have not got the budget to air Nighttime programming.
EDIT: Apparently, STV is now airing Teleshopping, the bane of evil when you wake up early.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't criticising STV for deciding to show the debate instead of the football. The only issue for me is if it makes commercial sense both in the short and long-term, but I'm very happy to see them producing extra programming. Anyone that desperate to see the England game would be able to find it without too many problems.
I also thought it was a good idea to involve ITV Border's correspondent.
