Bradby at Ten

Interesting - they've been so keen to stick to the 'ITV News at...' and 'ITV News [region]' brands that it seems very odd to break up the names yet again and revert to the Lunchtime/Evening/Weekend titles. Replacing the lousy 'News & Weather' listings with 'ITV News at 6:30', 'ITV News at 1:30' (well, 1:28!!) etc etc would surely be a better arrangement.



Exactly. If they're so keen to develop the bulletin as being distinct from the other then it makes sense to spin it off under its own branding again - not too far removed from the current look but far enough to make it stand out as the flagship. Watching the recent 60th documentaries and seeing old news clips makes you realise just how powerfully iconic the News at Ten brand is, and how criminal it is that they've ebbed it away in recent years to become a mere clone of the other bulletins. If anything, you should build on such a famous name in order to stop people referring to the bulletin on the other side as 'News at Ten', which as a TV pres fan makes me cringe in horror

As I think has been said already, the changes being introduced this evening are designed to be 'evolutionary' rather than 'revolutionary', hence the soft launch tonight.

From what I understand, the rehearsals have gone quite well, and a lot of effort has gone into making the tone of the programme less formal and more accessible, with the lead-ins and interaction between Bradby and interviewees being less scripted than what viewers have come to expect from other network bulletins.

In terms of on-screen presentation, I think the only difference we'll really see tonight is a return of the NAT sign-off from reporters at the end of packages. I think they may also start to drop the 'Coming Up' trail halfway through the programme, as well as the paper preview at the end, to allow more time for packages and analysis etc. There's also a standing agreement with the network to be able to extend the bulletin by a few minutes as and when needed, even at relatively short notice.

The focus is very much on getting the tone and content right, whilst the programme's branding is under review for 2016.

Tonight should be interesting ...

Sounds interesting.......... let's wait and see

When NaT is refreshed in the New Year, it'll be the only programme to be refreshed? It wouldn't make sense to have a full refresh, would it, given that most regional news studios mirror the National News studio?

One thing I wish NaT would do, is have a small newspaper review. I know they show some newspaper front pages, but i'd like to see a bit more discussion of them. It could potentially set it apart from BBC Ten O'Clock News.

The news is about reporting the facts. Especially with a bulletin as prestigious as News at Ten. I don't particularly want to hear the opinions of some political figures about the Newspaper front pages. You've got Sky News and BBC News Channel for that.

I don't think NAT ever regained its prestige after the first time they cancelled it in 1999.

I thought the 2008-09 era helped them a bit. It was a shame when they dumped that backdrop and graphics for the generic ITV News set.

This is a very good point - and I certainly hope they don't break the connection between the regional and national studios so soon.

But, given that the only unifying features are the desk, platform, side screens and corner pillars, there's a lot they can still do with the rest of the background on the national set. They could create a completely different look by moving away from the gallery environment, and it wouldn't affect the regions at all.

I never understood why they ditched the look that NaT had when it returned in 2008, I loved it and the fact that it had its own identity

Christmas would be a good time to tweak the main ITV News desk area, with the national bulletins coming from the London desk. Staffing of the early evening bulletin would be shared with London anyway on the days between Christmas and New Year.

Actually there's nothing stopping them. They can just change the backdrops and logos on the monitors without replacing the entire sets. They did that with the last four relaunches (when the regional branding was ditched, when the ITV logo changed, when they changed from teal to yellow, and when the ITV logo changed again).