More than 220 jobs are expected to be cut at ITV after the UK commercial broadcaster announced changes to the scheduling and production of its daytime shows, with savings set to fund additional investment in genres such as drama, entertainment and reality.ITV Studios is consulting with its ITV Daytime teams about a proposal that would see Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women produced by one team sharing resources and operations from 2026.The three editorially distinct shows will continue to be produced by ITV Studios and will be broadcast from a new location in central London.ITV said the changes, which according to The Guardian newspaper will mean more than 220 of 440 staff involved in daytime programming losing their jobs, will fund additional investment in dramas like Mr Bates vs The Post Office and coverage of major sporting events, as well as reality and entertainment shows.From January next year, Good Morning Britain (GMB) will be extended by 30 minutes to run from 06.00 to 09.30 daily.Having been made by ITV Breakfast since its launch in 2014, the show’s production will transfer to a dedicated team within ITV News at ITN at its base at Gray’s Inn Road, London.ITV said the change will see it bring all its national news gathering into one hub and allow GMB to benefit from the journalistic and production resources already in place for national news bulletins, for the website and for digital platforms including ITVX.In ITV’s 2026 daytime schedule, Lorraine will run from 09.00 to 10.00, on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks of the year. During the weeks Lorraine is not on air, GMB will run from 06.00 to 10.00.This Morning will remain in its 10.00-12.30 slot on weekdays throughout the year, while Loose Women will be in the 12.30-13.30 slot, again on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks of the year, the schedule it occupied for over a decade until 2016.The expanded GMB will continue its mix of news, interviews, debates and competitions while allowing for the inclusion of more regional news, investigations and exclusives as well as more reporting on and analysis of the biggest stories of the day around the UK and the world.Together with the 30-minute expansion of ITV’s early evening news in 2022, the moves mean ITV will have provided a 20% increase in scheduled national and regional news each weekday.The change will form part of a renewed agreement between ITV and ITN for the latter to produce national, international, London and digital news for ITV for the next five years, with options to extend.Kevin Lygo, MD of ITV’s media and entertainment division, said in a statement: “Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust, as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.“These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever.“I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our daytime production teams, and we will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition.“Daytime has been a core element of ITV’s schedule for over 40 years and these changes will set ITV up to continue to bring viewers award-winning news, views and discussion as we enter our eighth decade.”
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