Dramatic start for STV2 channel
● Irish and Finnish shows unveiled as station’s flagship programmes
An Irish soap opera, a Finnish drama and repeats of crime series Taggart were today announced as highlights of STV’S new channel ahead of its launch later this month.
A weekly round-up of the Scottish political scene has also been announced by the broadcaster, which will launch its new new “Scottish Seven” bulletin when the channel starts broadcasting on 24 April.
Weekly entertainment and chat show programmes will also be part of the line-up for “STV2,” which will broadcast for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
STV announced plans for the channel and its first ever “integrated” news bulletin covering Scottish, UK and international news in September,.
The new saw STV jump the gun on BBC Scotland ahead of its own announcement of a new channel and a “Scottish Nine” bulletin, which will launch next autumn.
STV has bought in Ireland’s most popular long-running drama, Fair City, which first aired on RTE in 1989, as one of the flagship shows for its new channel. Also being given a prime slot is the 2012 British political drama Secret State, which stars Gabriel Byrne and Charles Dance. A
0 Long-running Irish soap opera Fair City is one of the opening attractions for STV’S new channel run of Taggart repeats has been announced seven years after the show was axed by the broadcaster.
STV will be staging outside broadcasts across Scotland as part of its its weekday magazine Live at Five, peviously shown on STV’S Glasgow and Edinburgh channels.
They are being merged with new licences for Aberdeen, Ayr and Dundee to create the new station.
David Farrell, Hayley Matthews, Jennifer Reoch, Gerry Cassidy and Ewen Cameron will be among the existing STV presenters who will be returning to front the new channel.
Its advance schedules include screenings of the 1941 Bette Davis film Little Foxes, the 1962 movie Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and the 1995 comedy The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain, starring Hugh Grant.
STV’S integrated news programme will use a 160-strong news team, including the 40-strong team involved in its previous local channels, as well as journalists from the ITN network across UK and around the world.
However, the broadcaster has said the new channel will be “delivered in partnership” with colleges and universities across Scotland, offering placements, internships and training.
Announced in February, the new BBC Scotland channel will boast a budget of £30 million and lead to the creation of 80 new posts for journalists. The new BBC channel will broadcast from 7pm to 12 midnight each evening.
Bobby Hain, director of channelsat Stv,said:“stv2is the new channel for Scotland designed to reflect life across the country.
“The channel will provide a unique opportunity to broadcast content that isn’t available for viewers anywhere else, including in-depth coverage of local sport and live events and exciting acquisitions including soap and drama, alongside an enhanced news service with local, UK and international stories.”