ITV launches Instagram news show The Rundown aimed at teens

ITV joins a growing throng of traditional broadcasters and newspapers turning to Facebook-owned TV-style platforms to deliver original news programming.

Earlier this year, Channel 4 News launched a weekly slot on Facebook Watch, while in the US the BBC has been broadcasting its own Watch show Cut Through the Noise for US viewers. Back in the UK, The Guardian has been using Instagram to cultivate a loyal, young audience that wouldn't traditionally visit its website.

Content for ITV's The Rundown will be produced by a dedicated team of producers and presenters, with new episodes being aired at 3.45pm each day to coincide with school and college closing times.

ITV says the service will explain the "most important international, UK and regional stories of the day" without trivialising the subject matter, something which participants in the audience research revealed was very important to them.

"The Rundown is designed to put our award-winning journalism right into the hands of switched on teens, who told us that they wanted to engage more directly and deeply with the news," said Stephen Hull, head of digital at ITV News.

"It is our hope that this new Instagram service will begin to answer their needs, become an essential part of the daily routine and the next step in ITV News reaching new audiences."

Viewers will also be able to swipe through directly from some items to more in-depth coverage of the same story on the ITV News website, while bulletins will be fronted by a team of presenters, hailing from across the country to ensure representation of the anticipated viewership.