STV Acquires Underbelly

Scottish ITV franchisee STV has acquired Australian crime series Underbelly and, in a separate move, hired former ITV consumer chief Jeff Henry to advance the company's digital strategy.

Underbelly (13x60'), produced by Screentime for Australian network Nine, will air as part of a new STV slate that also includes a one-hour doc about Sherlock Holmes, designed to tie in with the new Guy Ritchie movie about the detective.

Meanwhile, STV has appointed Henry as a consultant as it looks to bolster its digital activities. Henry presided over ITV's consumer division, which housed ITV.com and its controversial call TV activities, but left amid restructuring at the end of last year.

20 Oct 2009
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