Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) has formed a partnership with STV in a bid to deliver Glasgow’s first local television station.

STV has submitted its official bid to Ofcom for a local TV licence to create GTV, a new channel to be broadcast through Freeview. 

STV and GCU would work together to deliver peak time content, news and current affairs programming, as well as magazine-style shows for Glasgow viewers, should the application be successful.

Students on GCU’s industry-leading undergraduate and postgraduate Multimedia Journalism courses would have unrivalled access to work experience opportunities for primetime broadcasts. A graduate recruitment scheme would be established and GCU Principal and Vice Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies would sit on the board of the new company.

Professor Gillies said: “I am delighted that we are forming a partnership with STV as it submits an application to deliver GTV. We are ideally positioned to engage in this partnership, offering strengths such as our undergraduate and postgraduate Multimedia Journalism degrees, which have already produced graduates who have secured employment with STV, and, of course, our acclaimed TV scriptwriting Masters degree, which is supported by a Shed Warner productions and a host of television companies. 

“We have always placed great emphasis on employability and the launch of GTV would give our talented and committed graduates even more of a head start.

“I am also excited by the commitment of the new channel to work with the local community and this echoes GCU’s commitment to sharing its knowledge, resources and skills with the public, and to learning from the expertise of the different communities with which the university engages.”
Media and Journalism Subject Leader at GCU, Julian Calvert, said: “We already work closely with STV and this is a further opportunity for our students to engage with such a high profile broadcaster. 

“Our city centre location means we are the ideal partner for this project, while our media and journalism team have an outstanding reputation academically, as well as a wide range of industry experience and contacts.

“The STV bid places a lot of emphasis on enabling local communities to make their voices heard on the city’s television in a way which has never happened before, and the type of programming that is being planned further enhances our reputation for community engagement and reflects GCU’s commitment to the common good.”

Bobby Hain, director of channels at STV, said: “STV is well placed to offer innovative and viable local TV options. We’re delighted to be working with GCU to offer informative content that focuses on relevant, community news. Engaging with local communities is at the heart of GTV.”

GCU is unique in Scotland in that both its undergraduate and postgraduate Multimedia Journalism programmes have twin accreditation from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC). GCU’s BA Media and Communication course is one of the longest running and most highly regarded in Scotland. 

There has been continual investment in industry-standard equipment and facilities at GCU, including the state-of-the art HD TV studio and gallery, and an additional radio studio which will be completed later this month.