ITV reconsiders regional news cuts

ITV is to downgrade the news services offered by some regions instead of abolishing them altogether.

Executive chairman Michael Grade said last year that the broadcaster would merge several regional news areas.

The original plan, to save £40m by reducing ITV's number of regional newsrooms from 17 to 9, has been met with opposition from unions, MPs and campaigners. While it will still go ahead, many of the old areas that would have disappeared under the plans will live on in "sub-regions".

ITV plans to restructure its 6pm regional news bulletins such that the new sub-regions will have a six minute opt-out at 6:05pm as part of the nine main regional programmes: Meridian, London, South West, Central, North of England/South of Scotland (encompassing the former Tyne Tees and Border areas), Anglia, Yorkshire, Wales and Granada. The operations of STV and UTV are not affected by the change. Among the 18 sub-regions are areas that were previously served by distinct 6pm bulletins, such as the southern portion of the Meridian region and Cumbria.

The broadcaster indicated that each sub-region would also get airtime after News At Ten, and that bulletins could be re-extended when necessary.