STV chief rules out sell-off to ITV amid anger over job cuts

● Chief executive also grilled by MSPS about his £1.2m wage deal

STV chief executive Simon Pitts has insisted that the broadcaster is not being readied for a sell-off to the wider ITV network as he faced a grilling from MSPS.

But the under-fire boss faced criticism over the £853,000 “golden hello” package he received when taking over the post after the shock decision last month to axe 59 jobs and close down loss-making STV2.

Mr Pitts insisted that “hardly anybody” was watching STV2 and insisted the cuts are the only way the broadcaster can survive in the changing digital age when fewer people are watching TV news.

At the session of Holyrood’s culture committee, Green MSP Ross Greer challenged Mr Pitts over his claims that he is making “tough decisions”.

Mr Greer said: “You, this year, will receive £1.2 million in total earnings – there are people in your newsroom on £18,000 a year; journalists who are facing redundancy.

“Now the harsh decision for them is that that’s their livelihood. It must be incredibly hard for them to stomach that when they see people at the other end of the organisation receiving the kind of remuneration that you are.

“Do you understand how harsh that is for them, and did you consider forfeiting any of your total potential earnings for this year?”

Mr Pitts accepted it was a

0 Simon Pitts said STV was not being lined up for a sale to ITV “horrible” situation for those facing redundancy.

He said: “It is a very difficult situation. We have made difficult decisions that have a real impact on people’s lives in order to be able to grow this business, in order to use the savings we are making to reinvest for the future and also take some of the profit we are making and reinvest for the future that is exactly what we are doing.”

STV made a profit of £18m last year and the cuts will save about £2m a year. Mr Pitts insisted that the changes will allow the channel to invest in making more original programming in Scotland with £5m a year set to be invested in this.

And he also rejected concerns that the cuts were paving the way for STV, the last independent channel 3 broadcaster in the UK, to be sold onto the wider UK network.

“This is not a strategy to prepare STV for sale to ITV or anyone else – if that was the case we simply wouldn’t be investing.”