Channel 5 has proposed merging its two evening news bulletins into a single, hour-long bulletin at 5pm.
Under conditions of its broadcast licence, C5 is required to air 280 hours of news output per year - including 120 hours during peak time viewing hours.
To meet its commitments the channel currently airs two half-hour bulletins at 5pm and 6.30pm on weeknights, as well as short updates at 7.55pm and 8.55pm.
In a submission to TV regulator Ofcom, Channel 5 has proposed shrinking its peak time commitment to 20 hours - to be achieved by maintaining the updates at 7.55pm and 8.55pm - and creating a new hour-long bulletin at 5pm.
The broadcaster argues that at the moment, the 6.30pm bulletin competes unnecessarily with similar offerings on ITV and the BBC, while creating a 5pm news hour would result in a continuous block of news programming between 5pm and 8pm across the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
Furthermore, the channel says that the move will require them to spend more money on news rather than less, claiming: "It is worth noting that moving to a one hour programme as described would necessitate increased investment in production costs for Channel 5.
"As the rest of the channel has been transformed by increased UK investment, we feel it is important that our news offering reflects the expectations of viewers we have attracted to the channel over the past few years."
In response, Ofcom said that it is inclined to grant the request but has launched a consultation ahead of a final decision in September. body check tags ::
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