LOOKING out across the Clyde from STV’s headquarters on Glasgow’s Pacific Quay, it is difficult not to marvel at the rejuvenation which has taken hold on this stretch of the famous riverside in recent years. On both sides of the river, hotels, restaurants and offices have sprung up, while the SSE Hydro has brought an unmistakable vibrancy to the area.

This sense of renewal could equally apply to STV. As Rob Woodward enters the last days of his near 11-year tenure as its chief executive, he reflected with a degree of justifiable satisfaction at the revival in fortunes he has overseen at the broadcaster in the last decade. In this the year of its 60th anniversary, STV has launched a new digital channel dedicated solely to Scottish audiences, STV2, which includes the flagship STV News Tonight. It is currently in the process of returning £10 million to shareholders, and ramping up its production division, having recently won its first drama commission from BBC One. The thriller, set in Scotland and called The Victim, is due to air next year.

Admittedly, the most recent results for STV showed the company was being buffeted by weak conditions in the advertising market, with pre-tax profits falling 26 per cent to £7.5 million in the first half. But it said then it expected the market to pick up in the second half, with the business underpinned by strong growth in digital and sponsorship revenues.

While Mr Woodward admits the company is “not immune” to the vagaries of the advertising market, he emphasises the “overall health of the business has never been stronger”, having achieved seven consecutive years of growth.

“STV is clearly in a very different and much healthier place,” Mr Woodward said.

“It’s reconnected with our consumers, it’s reconnected with civic Scotland and our brand is in high esteem. It feels like, from many points of view, the company is in a much stronger position and is a lot more relevant and more vibrant than it was 10 years ago.”

It was a different story back then. The company was carrying £200 million of debt, largely arising from an acquisition spree led by his predecessors. During the 1990s the company hoovered up a host of media businesses, including The Herald and Evening Times (acquired from Caledonian Publishing in 1996), Pearl & Dean and Chris Evans’ Ginger Media Group, owner of Virgin Radio. Investments were also made by the company, renamed Scottish Media Group (SMG) in 2000, to acquire stakes in Heart of Midlothian Football Club and Scottish Radio Holdings.

By the time Mr Woodward arrived there was significant pressure on the balance sheet. He admits his main job at the start was simply to keep the business, by then renamed STV, “afloat”.

Mr Woodward said: “The heart of the business wasn’t beating as it needed to, so we had to come up after the first 100 days in office with a plan that was going to turn around the fortunes of the company.”

The remedial action involved cutting costs and selling off non-core assets Virgin Radio, Primesight and Pearl & Dean. The third part of the strategy centred on investment, which would eventually lead to developments such as the STV Player and more emphasis on STV Productions.

“The company had lost sight of what was the real gem within what was called the Scottish Media Group,” Mr Woodward said. “To me the gem that needed to be nurtured and loved was STV itself – putting Scotland, our role within Scotland, our brand, our content back at the forefront of people’s media consumption.”

News has always been a focus for STV, but the way it is consumed has changed remarkably with the digital revolution. Despite some doomsayers predicting that STV would be left behind by the likes of Netflix, YouTube and social media, Mr Woodward insists the company has thrived, with digital technology and data analytics now key to the operation. More than 2.3 million adults are now registered with STV and use its online or mobile services, with plans in place to use that intelligence to deliver more targeted advertising and content to consumers.

“We’ve thrived in a very different competitive environment,” he said. “That comes from what we think of ourselves as: we’re a content company, and we distribute our content in a multitude of different ways. We no longer think of ourselves as an old-style television business.”

The journey has not been without its challenges, though. Mr Woodward steered the company through a protracted legal stand-off with ITV, which broadly concerned how much the Scottish firm paid for the right to show certain ITV shows. The matter was resolved in 2011, when the two parties agreed a “pay as you go deal”. Reflecting on that time, Mr Woodward said that STV had “needed to draw a line in the sand” to redefine its relationship with ITV and cement its own independence.

“We came out the other side stronger for the experience,” he said.

Mr Woodward noted that relations between the two parties have thawed significantly since. Indeed, his successor at STV has been drawn from the ranks of ITV, with one of its long-standing executives Simon Pitts taking the chair in January. “I’ve known Simon for a number of years,” he said. “We’re both trustees of the Royal Television Society and I couldn’t think of a better person to come into the leadership role here.”

What, then, of his own plans? Although he has refused to rule out taking on another executive role, Mr Woodward’s plan is to pursue a portfolio career. He will continue to chair the Developing the Young Workforce group for the Scottish Government, chairs the listed technology firm Blannco, and is poised to take on the chair of Glasgow Caledonian University.

Asked to define a personal highlight from his time at STV, he highlights the work of the STV Appeal. “I had a strong feeling that STV needed to be seen as a force for good,” Mr Woodward said. “We have a unique connection with Scotland and with communities around Scotland. We’ve now raised £16.3m since 2011, when we launched the appeal with Sir Tom Hunter, and it’s been a remarkable success. It has not only enabled us to generate a lot of money, it’s also enabled us to tell some very difficult and challenging stories about contemporary Scotland.

“We’re using our ability to tell stories to actually challenge the way elements of the system work in Scotland, as well as raising money, and I think that’s STV at its absolute best.”