Shares in Scottish free-to-air broadcaster STV (STVG) took a turn for the worse, plummeting 33% in a week to multi-year lows after the firm lowered its outlook on 28 July.

The company warned full-year revenue and adjusted operating profit would be ‘materially below consensus’ due to continued deterioration in the commissioning and advertising markets.

Group revenue for the full year is now seen in a range of £165 million to £180 million, at an adjusted operating margin of 7%, with £10 million of the group revenue range driven by updated STV Studios guidance.

The firm also forecast third-quarter TAR (total advertising revenue) would be down 8% with July down 20% while August and September taken together would be broadly flat.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Scottish free-to-air broadcaster, according to analysts at Shore Capital, who said the firm is making strategic progress towards its 2030 targets, including the creation of a single audience division and a radio offering.

There are also forthcoming releases of Amadeus for Sky and the third series of Blue Lights for BBC One from the group’s production arm. 

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