Craig Oliver, the editor of the BBC's Ten O'Clock News, has said that the corporation is ready to compete with ITV News when News at Ten returns to ITV1 next year.

In a blog entry, Oliver said that "rumours of the death of the terrestrial TV news programme have been wildly exaggerated" because there is "still a big appetite for structured news programmes".

He wrote: "So the big question - who will win the Battle of the Tens? One thing's for sure, the early ratings will mean little. In the 'News at When' era, the first ITV programme received well over 8 million viewers - that audience soon died back after the initial surge in publicity. Sir Trevor is also a literary man, he will know Thomas Wolfe's assertion that, "You can't go home again." For the BBC it will mean its dominance in the slot is constantly under attack, and at a time when big changes are afoot here at Television Centre (including a move towards what will arguably be the most advanced multimedia newsroom in the world)."

Oliver was head of network programmes at ITV News until 2006.