Beaten to the punch once - hopefully not here...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4527932.stmhe ITV News Channel is to close down in the New Year after months of speculation about its future.
The service, which launched in 2000 as the ITN News Channel, has struggled for viewers against competition from BBC News 24 and Sky News.
Doubts about its future were raised last month when its hours on the Freeview service were cut to accommodate the new ITV4 channel.
The money saved by closing the channel will be reinvested in news on ITV1.
New bulletins will also be launched on digital channels ITV2 and ITV3, while newsgathering in the north of the UK will see greater investment.
Reports suggested 25 jobs would be lost, although an ITV spokeswoman was unable to confirm any details.
The channel was bought in 2002 and relaunched as the ITV News Channel, and joined the Freeview digital TV service, bringing a boost to its audience figures. Well-known presenters such as Alastair Stewart and Angela Rippon also joined the station, which continued to be made by ITN.
Freeview loss
But last month its hours on Freeview were halved to accommodate the new ITV4 channel, which broadcasts in the evenings, hitting its ratings.
ITV director of television Simon Shaps said: "The question we have asked ourselves is what does news look like in five or 10 years' time?
"The answer is that it looks very different from the traditional 24-hour rolling news format that we are used to now.
"Increasingly, viewers will want news on demand via a variety of different platforms and we are investing in the technology and expertise to deliver that."
'Devastating blow'
On Sunday, both BBC News 24 and Sky News achieved ratings of more than four million for their coverage of the Buncefield oil depot explosion in Hertfordshire. But the ITV News Channel had only 1.4 million viewers.
Despite the channel's uncertain future, it relaunched its breakfast programme recently, drafting in former Sky presenter Scott Chisholm to front the bulletin.
Industry website Media Guardian said the channel would go off air by the end of January, although ITV was unable to confirm this.
The National Union of Journalists said it would be holding an emergency meeting.
Broadcasting organiser Paul McLaughlin said: "It is a devastating blow for ITN staff in the run-up to Christmas, a real disaster.
"It just shows ITV are abandoning their commitment to news. They had consistently said they care about it but their actions speak far louder than words."
"We are certainly not going to take this lying down," he added.
(No article on the ITV News site which I suppose sums up why they're closing...
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