So if ITV are getting rid of the 3pm bulletin which is usually about 12 minutes long, thats 60 minutes they need to make up across the week. Extending the lunchtime news from about 7 to 13 minutes will only make up some of the time. I wonder if they will extend the weekend evening bulletins from 15 to 30 minutes?
Currently the ITV regional bulletins on weekdays are 6.35, 7.05, 8.05, 10.55, 12.45, 15.00, 18.00, 22.50.
If the extension of the weekend bulletins is true, I doubt it will be thirty minutes, probably twenty minutes (on Sunday that would tie in with the Weekend News from 6.40)...
I think that the 3pm bulletin should be kept, but only as a 5 minute summary, followed by a quick update from one of the Evening News presenters.
ITV1
15:00 - ITV News Summary with Mark Austin
15:05 - Regional News
ITV NC
15:00 - ITV News with Nina Hussain
15:15 - ITV News with Mark Austin & Nina Hussain
Presuming they are already broadcasting close to the minimum number of minutes of regional news, when the afternoon bulletin goes they will need to find approx 25 minutes a week to maintain current levels.
If weekend lunchtimes went up to 10 minutes and weekend evenings went up to 20 minutes that would probably do the trick.
So if ITV are getting rid of the 3pm bulletin which is usually about 12 minutes long, thats 60 minutes they need to make up across the week. Extending the lunchtime news from about 7 to 13 minutes will only make up some of the time. I wonder if they will extend the weekend evening bulletins from 15 to 30 minutes?
Currently the ITV regional bulletins on weekdays are 6.35, 7.05, 8.05, 10.55, 12.45, 15.00, 18.00, 22.50.
To be honest I don't think it's 12 minutes now, it used to be as it started at exactly 3.00pm, but now it has a tendancy to start towards 3.05pm and still ends at the usual time, but IIRC all of the Community Information things (such as Granada Action) have been dropped, so I guess that clears a minute or two.
Personally I'd like to see a late Weekend bulletin, even if it's 5 minutes, as I'm unable to see any Regional News on Saturdays due to work commitments, though I can't see this happening. Presumably they'll just extend the teatime editions, maybe the Sunday ones, as that slot gets about 4 or 5 million viewers, where as the main 6pm weekday bulletins get 4.5 million in the ratings.
With the Sunday teatime one now providing the slot for regional football action, following the the changes with Soccer Sunday no longer airing, this one definally could do with extending. At least on Calendar they are usually pushed for time so it could do with 20 mins. Saturday might as well extend to 20 mins as well with more time for the football results.
I'd say the current lunchtime one at 12.50 is about 6 minutes long at the moment with the 15.00ish one about 11-12 mins
They could extend the GMTV bulletins by a couple of minutes, making each bulletin 5 minutes long. Sort of like what the BBC did when they relaunched Breakfast. They extended the xx:55 mins past each hour to include a detailed regional weather forecast.
They could extend the GMTV bulletins by a couple of minutes, making each bulletin 5 minutes long. Sort of like what the BBC did when they relaunched Breakfast. They extended the xx:55 mins past each hour to include a detailed regional weather forecast.
Would that count though since the bulletins are part of GMTV airtime not ITV1.
They could extend the GMTV bulletins by a couple of minutes, making each bulletin 5 minutes long. Sort of like what the BBC did when they relaunched Breakfast. They extended the xx:55 mins past each hour to include a detailed regional weather forecast.
The breakfast-time bulletins come under separate contracts between the regional companies and GMTV, and are not part of the main franchise requirements for regional news.