The BBC has announced it is to shorten the length of News at Ten on BBC One in order to bring content from BBC Three onto the linear channel.
From 4th March, News at Ten will be reduced from its current 31.5 minutes to 26.5 minutes. Local news will be cut from 11 minutes to 7 minutes and UK weather will be shortened from 2.5 minutes to 1.5 minute.
The Corporation said the new schedule “more closely mirrors what the BBC has historically done and what the BBC already does on a Friday.”
“We believe this will be better for audiences as those that want more in-depth news and analysis can move over to Newsnight on BBC Two and it will allow for a slightly earlier and more consistent start time for viewers to watch the programmes that follow,” said the statement.
The new post-news slot will become a showcase for programming available on BBC Three on Mondays to Wednesdays. The first wave of titles in the BBC Three slot will be the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, followed by new dating format Eating With My Ex and Stacey Dooley fronted make-up competition Glow-Up playing across Monday-Wednesday respectively.
The BBC said it is also updating BBC iPlayer’s home screen to help viewers find new BBC Three content more easily and give them the opportunity to discover even more programming from BBC Three.
