Speculation on online media forums suggests ITV News is to have its first major refresh in nine years.
As part of the ‘new look’ for ITV News, the ‘insiders’ discussing the changes online note a whole new early evening schedule would be introduced for the first time since 1999.
The revamp would, the speculation notes, see the currently hard-hitting ITV Evening News, which has been host to key exclusive political revelations in recent months, become a ‘news and magazine’ programme, extended to an hour. This would see 90 minutes of news back to back on the network with the regional news offering remaining at 6 pm.
Last year Channel 5 moved its two half-hour late afternoon and early evening news programmes together to make a one-hour offering, however, this 5 News move out of primetime for a 60-minute late afternoon slot. An hour-long ITV Lunchtime News was introduced in 2005, however, this failed to ignite viewer interest and was dropped within a year.
The last major changes to ITV News were in 1999 when News at Ten was axed and the News at 5.40 was moved to 6.30 pm. The schedule changes were a flop for the network with the 10pm replacement shows failing to draw in viewers and the 11 pm Nightly News equally as unpopular. If the gossip online is true the proposals, which would begin to take place on-screen in late March or early April, would be even more drastic with the moving of Emmerdale out of the 7 pm slot and a possible move for Coronation Street to accommodate the extra half hour of news.
Traditionally the 7 pm slot on ITV was a mix of soap opera, game shows, documentaries and factual with programmes such as Take Your Pick, Wish You Were Here?, Wheel of Fortune and This Is Your Life airing in the slot until Emmerdale went five nights a week in 2000. Mooted changes to the soaps would see Emmerdale at 7.30pm five nights a week while Coronation Street would become three hour-long episodes at 8 pm. The changes would see EastEnders, already struggling to pull-in ‘on the night’ ratings, face more competition while The One Show would also go head-to-head with the ITV News offering.
The online debate with ‘insider gossip’ has been going on since late last year when it was noted production company behind the news shows for ITV, ITN, had listed new employment opportunities, including new correspondents and editors.
ITV has made no comment on the media speculation of the change. The current main host of the ITV Evening News is Mary Nightingale.
“ITV doesn’t increase news for the love of providing news coverage. Remember the Lunchtime News extension to an hour that enabled ITV to drop the 3pm ITV News and regional update – this was not restored when the Lunchtime News was cut back to 30 minutes. Ofcom did nothing. Will it be a case of News at Ten going once more, eventually?” – TV Critic Vivian Summers
