10 News First will revert to a 60 minute bulletin in 2024 and reintroduce a late night news bulletin.
A Network 10 spokesperson told TV Tonight, “News staff at Network 10 have been informed that there will be greater focus on News in 2024.
“10 News First will return to a one-hour bulletin from 5pm to 6pm weeknights and Network 10 will welcome back a late news bulletin which will be available as a digital offering first on 10 Play then broadcast on 10.
“Network 10 will continue to produce 90 minutes of news nightly. Additional exciting programming changes will be announced later in October.”
There are understood to be no job losses and no planned changes to weekend News.
The moves, confirmed ahead of the network’s 2024 Upfront in late October, are part of a larger vision around the early evening schedule with industry rumours of a Deal or No Deal game show (currently casting) and the return of Neighbours to late afternoons.
10 has already tweaked that scheduling with the local soap pushed to a 4pm slot from today, as The Bold & the Beautiful resumes its 4:30pm home.
Early evening changes are doubtless designed to feed bigger viewing audiences into The Project at 6:30pm and subsequently 7:30 entertainment from an improved standing start.
10 News First, which boldly launched as a 5pm bulletin under its previous Eyewitness News banner in 1992, was extended to 90 minutes in 2019 following the end of Pointless.
10 rolls out its Upfronts from October 24.
