Viewers were subjected to shaky camerawork, wild speculation and decidedly info-free updates. So business as usual for a rolling news channel, then
When’s a good day to revamp your rolling news channel? A soft relaunch of the 24-hour updates from BBC News ended up being piquantly timed: 3 April 2023 showcased the essence of an endless bulletin, for better or worse.
In a move that it says will “modernise the way we deliver the news – while addressing the financial challenges we face”, the Beeb has merged the BBC News channel, once known as News 24, with BBC World News, the international spin-off that previously provided updates on Japanese stock prices and Omani weather when lazily perused in a foreign hotel room. Although overseas viewers will still sometimes be shown different content, it will no longer be via a separate channel. Brits, meanwhile, who already saw simulcasts of the main BBC One news bulletins, will also now see Newsnight and, soon, a televised version of Nicky Campbell’s 5 Live show on weekday mornings.
