David Mortimer Promoted At STV Studios As ‘Criminal Record’ Producer Predicts “Strong” Profitability For Rest Of 2024

David Mortimer has been promoted at STV Studios as the Criminal Record producer predicts “strong H2 profitability.”

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Mortimer has risen from MD to CEO of STV Studios, coming a few days after ex-ITV exec Rufus Radcliffe was revealed to be taking over as CEO of STV from Simon Pitts, who will stand down next month.

The news about Mortimer’s promotion comes as STV, which is a public company, revealed solid half-year results for the first six months of 2024. STV, which incorporates linear channels, streaming and STV Studios, saw turnover rise 20% to £75.3M ($98.9M) while adjusted operating profit was up by one third to £10.6M.

STV Studios, meanwhile, saw a 38% boost in revenue to £37.5M. STV said it is “on track” to deliver on the target of doubling Studios revenue to £140M by the end of 2026 with a 10% margin. While its operating profit was just £0.1M, the company blamed “drama activity and performance of acquired production companies” and promised “strong H2 profitability from expected seasonal second-half weighting.”

Mortimer’s outfit has had a solid year with the renewal of Apple TV+’s Peter Capaldi-starrer Criminal Record and debut Netflix commission The Witness, along with the BBC betting big with a four-season order of Northern Irish police drama Blue Lights . Yesterday, we revealed STV Studios is developing a n o t h e r BBC drama about the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster.

Elsewhere, STV Studios has taken full control of factual producer Hello Halo, with its stake rising from 30% to a majority 51% just a few days ago.

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Pitts, who will depart on October 31 to join Global, said: “Our production investment strategy is delivering tangible results, with STV Studios continuing its strong revenue growth in the first half, and we have today announced an exciting new deal to take majority control of profitable unscripted formats creator, Hello Halo. With high value recommissions of series like Criminal Record for Apple TV+ and The Fortune Hotel for ITV also secured, we have our strongest ever future order book in Studios at £101m in programme commissions.”

On Mortimer, he said he’s “delighted” that the former BBC and NBC exec “will be driving its continued growth and success both domestically and internationally.”

Last year, STV acquired Greenbird from Keshet , which saw its number of labels shoot up from eight to 20.

'Criminal Record' Renewed For Season 2 At Apple TV+