STV taps Tinopolis’ David Mortimer to join as MD

STV has appointed Tinopolis’ David Mortimer as its new managing director for STV Productions.

Mortimer will take charge of STV’s production teams in Glasgow and London.

His brief is to turn STV into one of the UK’s leading production companies, repositioning the brand to focus on developing returning series for terrestrial and SVOD players across scripted and unscripted.

He will also establish new creative production partnerships and work with the team to pilot a range of new programme formats on STV.

The appointment is a key part of STV’s three-year strategy, according to the company. This will see the business invest £15 million in new original content and digital to position STV as a major creative force in Scotland and beyond.

Mortimer is responsible for major hit shows including Dragons’ Den (BBC), Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends (BBC), and 71 Degrees North (ITV).

At Tinopolis Mortimer acted as director of content. He headed up the group’s overall scripted and unscripted strategy across prodcos in the UK and US.

Mortimer has also previously worked with NBC Universal, Fever Media and the BBC.

He said: “I’m really excited to be joining Simon and the team at STV. I think there’s huge untapped potential at STV Productions, so I can’t wait to get going and help our team develop and sell shows in the UK and internationally.

“The opportunity to launch our own formats on STV is particularly exciting and potentially gives us an amazing competitive advantage.”

Simon Pitts, CEO of STV, added: “David’s track record as a creative leader is second to none. He has developed, produced and run some of the biggest shows on television, both in the UK and the US, and his vast experience will help us establish STV Productions as a major industry player over the next few years.”