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| ITV launches £38m STV legal claim | ITV launches £38m STV legal claim |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| ITV has launched a £38m legal claim against its network partner STV in a row over the Scottish broadcaster's move to drop shows such as The Bill. | ITV has launched a £38m legal claim against its network partner STV in a row over the Scottish broadcaster's move to drop shows such as The Bill. |
| STV has opted out of several peak-time shows and replaced them with more regional programming. | STV has opted out of several peak-time shows and replaced them with more regional programming. |
| But ITV claims this has been in breach of existing network agreements. | But ITV claims this has been in breach of existing network agreements. |
| The network shows dropped from STV's schedule include, Midsomer Murders, Kingdom, Al Murray's Happy Hour, The Fixer and Doc Martin. | The network shows dropped from STV's schedule include, Midsomer Murders, Kingdom, Al Murray's Happy Hour, The Fixer and Doc Martin. |
| ITV also said STV was wrongly attempting to claim a rebate against "written-off" shows which were never transmitted. | ITV also said STV was wrongly attempting to claim a rebate against "written-off" shows which were never transmitted. |
| 'Pre-emptive' action | |
| In a statement, ITV said: "Given that we are a commercial organisation, with responsibilities to our shareholders, we are left with no option but to take legal action to recover this sizeable debt." | In a statement, ITV said: "Given that we are a commercial organisation, with responsibilities to our shareholders, we are left with no option but to take legal action to recover this sizeable debt." |
| STV said it had been in discussions with ITV "for many months on numerous matters" and was "disappointed" it had chosen to act in a "pre-emptive manner". | |
| A statement said: "STV will rigorously defend its position and in particular its rights as the licence holder to control its schedule and opt-out of programming in accordance with the devolution contract and the relevant networking arrangements." | |
| STV said it was also pursuing a claim over a "potential shortfall of approximately £2m" relating to revenues it should have received under its advertising sales agreement with ITV. | |
| The Scottish broadcaster said this was "but one of a number of issues" between the two companies. |