BBC Scotland has relegated the Scottish version of Question Time to a “graveyard slot” after viewing numbers collapsed.
Debate Night is to be moved from its slot at 10.45pm on Wednesday to 10pm on Sunday.
It means the show will be up against big-hitters including Match of the Day and News At Ten.
Viewing figures for Debate Night, hosted by Stephen Jardine, fell from around 16,000 on its opening night in February to around 3000 a month later.
Professor Tim Luckhurst, a former BBC editor, told the Daily Mail that it was clearly not “a vote of confidence” in the show by BBC bosses.
He said: “If Debate Night is not yet in the graveyard, it is in intensive care – the competition from sport, entertainment and straight news on other channels is formidable on Sunday evenings.
“Indeed, the most successful Sunday current affairs shows, such as BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show and Sky’s Sophy Ridge, tend to be scheduled in the morning.
“Granted, to do that, they would have to call it Debate Day or Morning Debate, but a change of title might be a small price to pay for sufficient viewers to justify the expense.”
A BBC Scotland spokesman said: “The switch to Sunday means Debate Night now has an earlier time slot.
“It continues to receive positive feedback from viewers who value the programme as a forum in which audience members have a say in the big issues and the opportunity to challenge politicians and policy makers.”
The move was first announced on the show’s Twitter account. They wrote: “Why is there no #bbcdn tonight? We’re back after our Easter break in a new slot on the @BBCScotland channel. So please join us this Sunday from 10pm.”
Responding to the announcement on social media, people questioned the decision to move the show to the “graveyard slot”, as it had been well-received by Scottish audiences.
“Right, Sunday night, the graveyard hour,” tweeted @Palayo.
Another Twitter user, @kozmapar, couldn’t make sense of the move: “Sunday night? Seriously? Well, that will probably lose me as a regular viewer. What was wrong with the midweek slot! What on earth are the BBC Programme schedulers up to? #unimpresssed”.
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