Weekend News

Not worth a new thread really, but any existing C4 News thread has long since been archived.


Anyhow, notice C4's weekend news programmes have both been extended over recent weeks.


After being only 15 minutes long for most of the year, the Sunday edition is back at 30 minutes, while for the last few weeks and up until Christmas, the Saturday edition is up to 50 minutes long.


So is it just a quirk of scheduling - especially as this year Codex has been cut from 1 hour to 50 minutes, or are C4 experimenting with an even longer Saturday bulletin having been virtually the only broadcaster to provide a 30 minute bulletin every week since about 2000.


Five for a period also did full length weekend bulletins - certainly on a Sunday (not so sure about Saturday), but I think these were dropped in the switch to Sky News.


Anyhow, let's open this up more into a discussion about weekend news coverage in general.


BBC: Pretty much got it right on a Saturday, but the scheduling on a Sunday of 7.35pm and 10pm is too close together - though now Panorama is gone I'm glad to see they're being more flexible with the 10pm programming and moving it later when required for extended drama and films.

I know they do it for elections, but I think Newsnight Saturday wouldn't be a bad idea to air all year round, even if it's just regurgitating content from the week. It fits quite neatly into BBC2's early evening Saturday schedule.


ITV: After weeks of the ridiculous scenario of the main Saturday bulletins being at 4.30pm and 11.45pm for a couple of weeks the news has been in the more familiar 5pm / 11pm approx slots - though looking ahead I see again from next week the early bulletin airs earlier in the middle of a James Bond film. I just fail to see the logic in that - it certainly pisses of the film fans and I don't think it's appreciated by those who want to see the news either.

ITV's Weekend News used to be on a par with the weekday programming too, but certainly since the ITV News Channel closed - and the bulletins lost not only their sports presenter, but also a regular host, they seem to be an after-thought.


And lets open this up with the news channels too. Sky seemed to have resorted to 15-minute summaries for most of the day - which to be fair are very good self contained summaries, though I'm sure it's more a case of doing news on the cheap. If OFCOM rubber stamp Sky's plans though losing Soccer Saturday from Sky Sports News would be a massive blow to Freeview - Score just doesn't compare.


As for News 24 - well, whenever you turn that on at the weekend you seem to catch "Click".


You would think though that the news channels have a greater potential audience during daytime at the weekend than during the week, but I guess even if there is demand, there's probably not the supply of stories they get during the week.

I think the BBC needs to make a few changes to its weekend news. Firstly, the scheduling of the BBC One bulletins is not particularly good, especially on Sunday, as already pointed out. Secondly, News 24's weekend coverage also needs a few changes - losing some of the less relevant special programmes, such as Your News, and Peter Sissons would be a start. It would also be good if they could have some sort of branded time slot that was a little different in the schedule somewhere, as Sky does with Saturday Live. Weekend 24 between 5pm and 7pm perhaps?

On a different note does the BBC seem to be varying the presenters for its weekend bulletins a lot more since Moira Stuart's departure? It seems to be someone different each week. Finally, what's the point of having a special sports presenter come in to just read a few brief sports headlines on the BBC One Bulletins, and why does this only happen on some of the bulletins? Surely the newsreader could do it themselves?

I agree that the scheduling of BBC News bulletins on BBC1 on a Sunday is a discrace. It has been for quite a while now. I've lost count with the number of complaints I've made to the BBC about this.

The irony of it is, is that the scheduling on a Saturday is perfect. It used to be exactly the same on a Sunday, but that changed a few years ago now and doesn't seem to be altering back at all. There has never been a logical explanation to this ridiculous schedule as well.

Your News is crap, I certainly cringe when I see it, I don't know about anyone else. Especially when a breaking news banner comes up telling us there's been a bombing in Glasgow, but we have to wait for this turd to finish before we can find out more.

If C4 are extending the news at the weekend (again) they need to have it at a fixed time IMO...not necesarily 7pm, but around the same time slot, preferably either on the hour or half hour, rather than moving it about, as has happened in the past....

Newsnight Saturday would be *fab* again....Kirtsy Wark and the soley sofa format during the '05 election worked really well. Cant see it doing well at 10.30, but a half hour edition before the Culture Show would be good. They've already got 'The Week on Newsnight', which is a *hishlights* show, so they could do a more panel version a la the election versions, but in these cost cutting BBC days, it is all but a dream.

As for News 24, why don't they go back to a 1997 style afternoon of rolling news and sport? Essentially co-anchor it with a newsreader and sports presenter, it might liven things up a bit, from the current half hour news, half hour bland show. Saying that, some of those 'Our World' shows are quite interesting, as is Andrew Neils Straight Talk....perhaps more of a daytime as well as nightly outing for it?

Don't they just use a sports presenter from BBC News 24, one of the two who would be presenting Sportsday, which would suggest that if the bulletin clashes with Sportsday then there won't be a sports presenter as it increases costs.

The reason why the BBC News goes out at 19.35 on a Sunday is because it's the only programme that can do well against Sunday's Coronation Street. I think the news gets around 3 million viewers which is the highest figure for a programme in that slot.

However I do think the news is too close with just a two hour gap between the end of the evening bulletin and the start of the late one. Unfortunately I don't think that's going to change.

It's the BBC - it's not supposed to be about ratings!


Re: Sports presenter. I think it's quite important to have a seperate one at the weekend as it shows the news team are dedicated to providing decent sports coverage at the time when it most matters. As I said in my opening post, ITV News losing their Saturday sports presenters was certainly the beginning of the decline in quality of the bulletin as sport just seems to be tagged on at the end now.


And with the timing of ITV News now on a Saturday it usually airs before the full-time results are in from the 3pm kick-offs.

Remember the days when ITV News did a full results service for the Pools with their own Score voice and everything.

I'm alright with having the special sports presenter as long as they are doing something else as well, and since m-in-m pointed out that it is the duty presenter from News 24 coming in I'm okay with it, otherwise it would seem a waste. Not having a sports presenter if the bulletin clashes with Sportsday is a bit of a problem though, it makes things seem inconsistent. Not sure what could be done without having a seperate presenter come in though.

On a different note another weekend programe on News 24 that I don't like is Teen 24, which has only just returned. I'd rather they just got on with rolling news instead of airing this irritating programme.

It is cringeworthy. James Dagwell doesn't look comfortable at all, and all we ever hear in the 'how you'd make the news' section is

"I'd put the sport up a little bit"

"I'd get rid of the politics, because it's just boring"

or

"The news is great".

Well if that is the case, which I have to say I doubt, then that's pathetic. It's the news, not a drama, so it's generally going to be watched by a different group of people. Anyway, it shouldn't be put in a timeslot purely to get more viewers. If they give a damn about the viewers' convenience, they would put it on in the late afternoon, like on Saturday. I don't want to have to wait until the end of the day to watch the news.

In fact, and I'm leaving the tracks slightly here, the schedule of BBC1 all day on a Sunday is shocking. Eastenders omnibus, diagnosis murder (or cash in the attic), keeping up appearances (or allo allo), songs of praise - it's the same every week. Moving the news to the late afternoon slot would hardly upset many people.