STV Studios

Scottish television production business

STV Studios (previously STV Productions, SMG Productions, and originally known as Scottish Television Enterprises) is the television production arm of the STV Group plc. Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, and with an office in London, England, the company's output includes drama, factual, and entertainment programming for broadcast on television stations worldwide. A key programming supplier to the television industry in the United Kingdom, STV Studios' output is aired on all UK terrestrial networks as well as major satellite and cable stations.

Founded in 1957 by Canadian newspaper magnate Roy Thomson, Scottish Television Enterprises was the main content provider for the group's flagship ITV franchise STV. In the 1960s, its productions were often criticized for perceived low quality, with its parent company almost losing the ITV franchise as a result. By the 1970s, fortunes had improved and Scottish Television Enterprises had hopes of becoming a major content provider for the mooted ITV2 station that was being considered by the ITA. However, this never came to fruition and the resulting economic environment caused the company to experience very lean years. The opening of the new Channel 4 provided an opportunity for Scottish Television to produce nationally networked programs, and they became a major provider of the religious content that Channel 4 was mandated to show. The main ITV network also began showing Take the High Road nationally, and in 1983, STV would produce one of its most well known programs, Taggart. In February 2019, STV Productions and Primal Media announced a two year development deal to develop "large scale entertainment formats" for the UK market. In August 2020, STV Productions was rebranded to STV Studios after one year of their acquisitions and to expand its growing portfolio of businesses. In September 2020, STV Studios acquired factual entertainment producer Barefaced TV from Independent production group Argonon. In July 2023, STV Studios acquired London based Greenbird Media (including the 60% majority stake previously owned by Keshet International) for £21.4 million, giving it majority ownership of Crackit Productions and Tuesday's Child among other studios.