Former ITV executive Rufus Radcliffe has been appointed as the new head of STV Scotland

Scottish broadcaster STV has appointed ITV veteran Rufus Radcliffe as its new chief executive.

Radcliffe will join in November from ITV, where he was a member of the executive committee until April.

Having previously served as ITV’s managing director of streaming, interactivity and data, Radcliffe played a central role in the strategic development and launch of ITVX in December 2022.

STV’s current chief executive Simon Pitts has announced he plans to step down from the board and the top job.

Pitts also spent 17 years at ITV, including a period on its board of directors.

Before joining ITV, his replacement Radcliffe spent nine years at Channel 4.

He rose to the position of Marketing Controller at Channel 4, during which time the company launched E4 and the channel’s first streaming service, 4OD.

Paul Reynolds, Chairman of STV, said: “We now embark on the next phase of STV’s exciting growth journey as a digital-first, content-led business, and Rufus brings with him an uncommon breadth of strategic and operational experience from his significant previous roles in the industry.”

STV is more popular in Scotland at peak times than any other channel, including the BBC, giving the company an advantage with national and local advertisers.

Radcliffe said: ‘STV is a great brand with an enviable track record of creating high-quality, unmissable content and has a strong relationship with viewers and advertisers.

“I am delighted to be joining and can’t wait to work with everyone at STV to build on the tremendous success and growth of recent years.”