BBC looks to expand Breakfast and News at One

BBC’s Breakfast programme will get a refresh in the coming weeks, but is it a sign of bigger changes to come within BBC News?

The most watched breakfast programme in the UK, BBC’s Breakfast, which is broadcast seven days a week from Salford, will unveil a new look in the coming weeks.

The new studio will keep old elements that make the programme identifiable, but bring in new elements which have already been seen in the new national news studio back in London and several BBC nations and regional news studios.

Last week, TVZone reported that the BBC were looking at extending Breakfast and the BBC News at One, with the lunchtime news programme being moved to Salford. The BBC has told ATV Today that “no decision has been made” in relation to the proposed move.

BBC spokesperson told ATV Today:

“While we’re always discussing how we can move more of our programming across the UK, no decisions have been made.”

The schedule expansion would see Breakfast pushing Morning Live into direct competition with ITV’s This Morning. The ITV daytime show has suffered in recent months due to the ongoing scandal around Phillip Schofield’s relationship with a younger colleague and allegations the show is a “toxic” place to work.

Morning Live, hosted by Gethin Jones among others, regularly wins its slot from 9.15am, largely in-part inheriting a sizable audience from Breakfast. It is thought the expansion of Breakfast and BBC News at One is to plug the gaps left after the merger of the BBC News Channel and BBC World News. The merger has seen audience figures for the BBC News Channel drop as viewers seek elsewhere for UK news stories.