ITV is preparing a new entertainment show to air nightly at 10pm that could displace the News at Ten for at least eight weeks.
The plans are thought to be an attempt to create a new US late-night talk programme in the style of James Corden’s The Late Late Show. It would go up against the BBC’s flagship 10pm bulletin, pushing the News at Ten back by half an hour.
It is understood the show would only have a limited run starting at some point in the new year, but would not replace the flagship bulletin permanently.
An ITV spokesperson said: “We are looking at an entertainment show for the new year, more details will be confirmed in due course, including scheduling.
“There are occasions when the main bulletin moves for big entertainment event programming or sport. However, we have no plans to permanently move the news from the 10pm slot.”
The move is likely to revive concerns about News at Ten, which was relaunched with anchor Tom Bradby less than a year ago, going the way of its predecessor, which was dubbed “News at When” after being regularly moved around the schedules.
The revamped news show has already been shunted to make way for limited-run programmes such as I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and Champions League football coverage, but the proposed eight-week stretch would be significantly longer than previous disruptions.
ITV director of television Kevin Lygo, who replaced Peter Fincham earlier this year, is understood to be relaxed about moving the news bulletin around on an occasional basis.
Staff within ITN, which makes the News at Ten for ITV, are understood to be confused at the channel’s willingness to consider moving the bulletin for such a long period. Although it has failed to make a lasting dent in the lead held by its BBC counterpart, the new show has been generally well received.
Competition between ITV and BBC led to a war of words between Bradby and BBC anchor Huw Edwards last November shortly after News at Ten’s launch. Edwards wrote in a Facebook post that the BBC bulletin had more than double the viewers of ITV’s show, describing it as “business as usual”. Bradby responded in the Sunday Times that he was baffled by Edwards’ comments, saying: “You are the giant on the block; we get it! But isn’t it a good thing that we are trying to innovate and challenge you?”
Details about what the entertainment show would look like are limited, but sources told the Mirror that it could have a revolving cast of presenters, and aim to replicate the online success of Corden’s US show, with segments designed to travel well on social media.
