Regional viewers across Newcastle and the Hunter are reeling after major changes to local television news coverage, with long-standing bulletins being significantly reduced.

The WIN Network has confirmed weekend news bulletins will be scrapped entirely, with local news now confined to a single 30-minute broadcast each evening, airing from 5:30pm to 6:00pm.

The decision has sparked outrage and concern, with fears the move will severely limit coverage of breaking local stories, community issues, and emergency updates that regional audiences rely on.

There are also growing concerns for staff at NBN Television, which employs a large team of local journalists now facing uncertainty following the overhaul.

Critics have slammed the changes as another step towards a Sydney-focused media model, warning the Hunter region will be left with a “stripped back” version of local news under the revised format from the WIN Network.

No further changes to the service have yet been confirmed.