Scotland’s STV Upgrades Avid Infrastructure with Next-Generation News Graphics

Avid® (Nasdaq: AVID) today announced that STV, Scotland’s leading digital media brand, is deploying next-generation graphics solutions from the Avid Studio Suite. STV will optimize production processes and facilitate creative collaboration by using additional comprehensive tools on the tightly integrated Avid MediaCentral® Platform, the most efficient platform designed for media.

STV provides Scottish audiences with quality content live, online and on-demand, operating out of multiple broadcast hubs across the country. Scotland’s principal commercial broadcaster needed to upgrade an outdated graphics system at the end of its lifecycle to automate creative workflows across its sites, and to react to market demands more quickly.

Running a myriad of Avid Media Composer® editing systems and Avid Interplay® | Production asset management systems across its broadcast hubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen, STV is integrating multiple Avid Maestro™ solutions into its existing Avid infrastructure.  Maestro, part of the Avid Studio Suite, is one of the industry’s most comprehensive end-to-end real time high-resolution 3D graphics production tools.  STV chose Maestro to interact with viewers in an engaging way.

STV is reducing the overall footprint of its backend servers to run its multi-site system, eliminating any pre-existing interoperability issues, with the end vision of ultimately removing departmental silos entirely. By deploying Avid Maestro across its sites, STV will now have the ability to design and produce in-house graphic elements and single or multi-use templates, improving collaboration and reducing the amount of duplicated efforts by its work force.

“We operate in a very competitive environment so there is always demand for compelling programming and our upgrades will help STV to stand out,” said Sam Dornan, Channels Operations Manager at STV. “Avid’s tools will give our graphics teams across the channels the freedom of more fluid and dynamic elements which, in turn, will help us to distinguish our brand and build viewer loyalty via consistent and distinct themes across all our shows.”

STV will benefit from seamless integration of Avid Maestro with the existing newsroom systems across the multiple broadcast hubs, including Avid iNEWS. Maestro also provides social media integration via Social Media Hub, allowing the retrieval, filtering and on-screen display of content posted across a variety of social channels, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The investment also includes a support contract with Avid Global Services, providing users and operators across the regional Scottish hubs with access to training packages to increase the lifetime value of the new assets.

“By expanding its existing Avid platform, STV is providing eye-catching graphics to expand the scope of their stories to millions of viewers, whilst creating a unique workflow ecosystem across its regional broadcast hubs,” said Tom Cordiner, senior vice president, Global Sales, Avid. “The implementation of Avid’s next-generation products also allows for further expansion, including the adoption of future broadcast requirements, such as moving toward cloud-based workflows.”

STV reaches 3.5 million viewers each month, with first-class programming including long-running British soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street, global entertainment phenomenons like The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, strong home-grown productions and the most comprehensive local news service in the UK. STV also delivers local TV for Scotland’s largest cities, STV Glasgow (launched in June 2014) and STV Edinburgh (launched in January 2015).

About STV News

STV News delivers locally focused, relevant and high quality news reaching around one million people each day on air and online.

News is at the heart of Scotland’s most popular commercial media website, stv.tv, including an enhanced digital news app serving consumers local, national and international news as well as features, sport and weather in one place.  

On air, STV News broadcasts three morning bulletins during Good Morning Britain, a lunchtime bulletin and three evening bulletins. With seven, regionalised bulletins each day on Channel 3, and hourly local news reports on city channels STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh, STV provides the most comprehensive local news service in the UK and is highly valued by viewers.

Three separate editions of the evening news programmes, STV News at Six, are broadcast from Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, with a bulletin for the Dundee and Tayside area, allowing STV to deliver local news stories and present the stories that are relevant to its regional audience.