Channel 5 news move thwarted

Channel 5 news: Staying in a peak-time slot

Channel 5's attempt to move its main evening news forward out of peak-time has been blocked by the Independent Television Commission.

The ITC turned down the channel's request to shift the bulletin forward by 30 minutes to 1730.

"While the ITC had some sympathy with the arguments that C5 put forward, the Commission were unwilling to see the requirements for C5 to provide 20 mins of news and 10 mins of current affairs in peak-time being reduced," an ITC spokeswoman told BBC News Online.

The shift to an earlier news slot would have allowed the channel to accomodate a new peak-time schedule including Australian soap Home and Away - due for a July launch.

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A Channel 5 spokesman said: "The news at 1730 was what we preferred, but we'll go away now and have a look at the other options."

Election specials

However, the ITC has agreed to allow Channel 5 to run an hour-long news and chat show starting at 1730 in the three-week run-up to the general election.

The first half of 5 News and Talk will be a normal bulletin, with the second half taken up by an interactive section which will invite viewers' discussion and comments about the day's events.

Channel 5's remit says it must have some news in peak time - which is defined as starting at 1800.

The existing 30-minute bulletin has been in competition with the BBC's Six O'clock News.