The hour-long ITV Evening News programme launches tonight as part of new-look primetime schedules.
The rejigged evening offerings are the first major changes to ITV News in the schedules since 1999.
The ITV Evening News, produced by ITN, provides the international and national stories to the network and is as ITN notes ‘the most-watched commercial news programme in the UK’. ITV revealed they were to extend their commitment to national and international news by extending the 6.30 pm programme to an hour, with even more focus on reporting from outside of London feeding into the programme, to reflect the whole of the UK.
The weekday news programme will, ITV note ‘build on the success of the current 30-minute programme’.
Presented by Mary Nightingale, the longer offering will provide trusted journalism and build on one of the key features of the current programme, strong on-the-ground reporting from across the UK and the globe.
In what is the biggest expansion of jobs within ITV Network News in the past 20 years, 27 new journalists, producers and multi-skilled camera operators/video editors have been recruited to join the programme alongside ITV’s existing specialist editors and correspondents. New appointments include correspondents being taken on in Wales, Scotland and the north of England to work towards the programme. As well as general reporters, there will also be a new Social Affairs role based in the north of England.
ITV’s Evening News programme was watched by an average of 3.2 million viewers/ a 21% share of viewing in 2021, and the programme has posted its highest viewing shares for a decade, in 2020 and 2021.
The changes affect the schedule from 7 pm to 9 pm with both Emmerdale and Coronation Street moving slots. In response the BBC have given Doctors a primetime 7 pm repeat on BBC Two hoping to catch the viewers missing soap opera in that slot while EastEnders goes up against Emmerdale at 7.30 pm Monday to Thursday.
Coronation Street moves to hour-long episodes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8 pm.
