ITV has moved Robert Peston’s political interview programme to a midweek evening slot after it failed to establish itself with viewers, in a move that marks the channel’s retreat from the highly competitive world of Sunday morning political TV shows.

Peston on Sunday was launched in May 2016, as part of the deal that saw the host move from his job as BBC economics editor to become ITV’s political editor. It was initially described as a fresher alternative to the BBC’s long-running Andrew Marr Show and although ITV insisted they were not concerned about its ratings, it was seen as a chance to re-establish the channel’s reputation for hard political news.

Although Peston on Sunday won praise for its more relaxed interviewing style, its most recent episode attracted an average of 170,000 viewers in its 10am timeslot. By comparison the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, which is broadcast an hour earlier, attracted 1.5 million viewers on the same day.

ITV said more people watch the Sunday evening repeat than the live morning broadcast, prompting it to rethink its strategy. As a result, the show, now known simply as Peston, will move to Wednesday nights when it returns in the autumn.

Sunday morning political interview shows have traditionally been viewed by broadcasters as flagship programmes, giving politicians a platform to set the agenda for the week ahead while also providing material for newspapers on what is traditionally a quiet news day. 

The BBC broadcasts the Andrew Marr Show and Sunday Politics, while Sky News is home to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, with all the rival shows competing for guests and media attention.

The decision to move Peston’s show was seen within the BBC as a victory for their programmes.

“Politics works on Sunday morning if done right, which means a commitment to impartiality and tough but fair questions,” said one source at the corporation.

The new-look Peston will air directly after ITV’s News at Ten, enabling the show to inherit a substantially larger audience from the previous programme. This will also put it into direct competition with BBC2’s Newsnight current affairs programme. However, the show will be on too late for most newspaper print deadlines, meaning it is unlikely to make front-page news.

“I am immensely proud of what we have created at Peston on Sunday,” said Peston. “Peston, in its new slot, will retain its blend of agenda-setting interviews, digital interaction with the audience, cutting-edge graphical analysis, informality and fun, with some exciting new elements.”

Peston’s co-presenter, Allegra Stratton, had already confirmed she would not be returning to the programme after this series for family reasons, before the new timeslot was announced.