STV Commissions Ipsos to Provide Opinion Polls on Independence Referendum

STV is partnering with independent research company Ipsos Scotland to provide STV News with a series of six opinion polls charting the views of Scottish voters in the run up to, and beyond, the independence referendum in September 2014. Voters will be polled on how they intend to vote in the referendum, how they intend to vote in parliamentary elections and their views on the performance of the leaders of Scotland’s main political parties. The data from each poll will be presented exclusively on STV News at Six and Scotland Tonight, with a full analysis of the results and the likely implications for Scottish politics.

stv.tv will also host detailed coverage on the results with the opportunity for the audience to analyse the polling data in greater detail.

Gordon Macmillan, Head of News at STV, said: 

“The STV news and current affairs team is committed to providing comprehensive coverage on all the big issues ahead of the 2014 referendum. Polling the views of the Scottish public is an important part of that coverage and we are delighted to be working with Ipsos. The poll results provided at key points in the debate will give us a better understanding of public opinion and inform programming in the run up to the referendum next year.” 

Mark Diffley, Research Director at Ipsos Scotland in Edinburgh said:

“Our commitment to high quality polling on attitudes to Scottish independence goes back over 35 years and we are delighted to be continuing that commitment with STV in this exciting new partnership. Our regular polling will provide detailed, high quality analysis of public attitudes and what this means as the referendum gets nearer. We are looking forward to a successful partnership.”

With just over a year until Scots vote in the independence referendum, the results of the first opinion poll will be broadcast on STV on Wednesday 18th September. In May, Scotland Tonight delivered the first live TV debate between Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore. This was followed by a second debate in early September between Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Anas Sarwar.

Notes to Editors

About the survey

Each poll conducted by Ipsos will be among a representative sample of 1,000 adults from across Scotland. In line with the rules for the referendum, 16 and 17 year olds will be included in the polls. All polls are conducted by telephone.

About STV

STV reaches over 4 million viewers each month with first class programming including soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street, big drama productions, entertainment hits The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, strong home-grown productions and the most comprehensive local news service in the UK. 

STV Productions is one of the UK’s leading content businesses, with ambitious plans for growth and expansion in the UK and overseas. The company has a record of success across a range of genres including drama, factual and entertainment, producing a wide range of programmes for a variety of networks, including Catchphrase and Fake Reaction for ITV1 and ITV2, ratings success Antiques Road Trip for BBC Two and drama The Poison Tree for ITV1. STV’s digital business incorporates Scotland’s most popular commercial media website, stv.tv, home to the STV Player and comprehensive news, sport and entertainment services. In 2010 STV launched STV Local, a network of websites - online and on mobile - for communities, towns and cities across Scotland. STV content is available across multi platforms including iPhone, Android, PS3, Windows 8; YouView and Samsung Smart TV.