ITV News channel is to close in the New Year, the network has announced.
The decision to close the 24-hour rolling channel follows a strategic review of news services for ITV news up to 2010.
The
channel has struggled since the launch of ITV 4 in the autumn, as its
airtime on Freeview was slashed. ITV’s lads’ channel, Men and Motors,
was given the channel’s Freeview slot during peak evening viewing times.
ITV
had complained that the channel did not have a fair position on the
electronic programme guide on Sky, where it still ran 24 hours a day.
It was at position 525 behind CNBC, CNN, S4C (Welsh channel), BBC News
24 and Sky.
Director of television for ITV Simon Shaps said: “The
question we have asked ourselves is what does news look like in five or
ten years’ time? The answer is that it looks very different from the
traditional 24 hour rolling news format that we are used to now.
Increasingly viewers will want news on demand via a variety of
different platforms and we are investing in the technology and
expertise to deliver that.”
“We also asked if we could better
serve the needs of our viewers by increasing investment in our flagship
shows and as a result we are strengthening our core network news
gathering operation.”
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