The launch of The Nightly Show on ITV attracted almost 3 million viewers on Monday night, but the News at Ten recorded its lowest Monday audience of the year so far in its new temporary 10.30pm slot.
ITV is attempting to replicate some of the success of late-night talk formats in the US, with a revolving cast of hosts each taking on a week of programmes for the next two months. David Walliams is taking the helm for the first week, with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, comedian John Bishop and chef Gordon Ramsay to follow.
However, ITV’s decision to push News at Ten back half an hour for the eight-week run has raised questions about its commitment to the programme, which underwent a major revamp at the start of last year.
Previous Monday editions of News at Ten, fronted by Tom Bradby, have averaged just over 2 million viewers this year, but in this week’s later slot it mustered only 1.6 million.
News at Ten has made way for other programmes before, but The Nightly Show will cause its longest continuous absence from the 10pm slot since the overhaul, which included hiring Robert Peston as political editor from the BBC.
Peston recently told the Guardian that The Nightly Show would have to build a large audience quickly if it is to keep the news from reverting to 10pm.
He said: “The simple point is that if it goes incredibly well, then that’s great for the news because it will bring us a bigger audience at 10.30pm. And if it doesn’t, then the truth is we’ll revert back to 10 o’clock.”
Though News at Ten won plaudits for its new style and coverage, it has not yet made a significant dent in the BBC’s 10pm bulletin, which regularly pulls in more than 4 million viewers.
ITV’s director of television, Kevin Lygo, has said The Nightly Show will offer a “real alternative” to the BBC news, but he will not make a decision on whether News at Ten will be permanently displaced until the end of the eight-week run.
