EAST PEORIA – Heart of Illinois ABC News and 25 News recently announced that they're combining operations.

Both station identities have been operating out of the same East Peoria building since 2009, when HOI moved there from its separate studio in Creve Coeur.

All of the news programs from the new consolidated operation will be filmed on WEEK-TV's set, which has been upgraded with new equipment and a new breaking news area. Programming will be broadcast on either of WEEK-TV's digital channels (25.1 or 25.2 over-the-air), with some programs being broadcast on both simultaneously.

WHOI-TV was acquired by the Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast group in 2013. Quincy Media bought Channel 25 in 2014, and later acquired the Heart of Illinois brand in 2016. Quincy Media was itself acquired by Gray Television in 2021.

The First Alert Weather Team, comprised of five meteorologists from both sides of the partnership, is already broadcasting in a combined format. News programs involving on-air personalities from both Heart of Illinois ABC News and 25 News will debut soon.

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WEEK-TV General Manager Pete Russell said that the reorganization didn't involve any reduction in staff. The station, he said, has hired two new producers and has plans to potentially hire more.

"We want to put together the best news team, the best newscast, that we could possibly do that's going to be able to be sustained," Russell said. "One of the things that allows us to do it is that we didn't let anybody go."

Russell said that the new arrangement was made out of a desire to better accommodate previously underserved time slots and prevent the two stations from cutting into each other's audiences. Rather than compete for the same prime time audience, the consolidated staff at the new 25 News will be able to produce a broader array of programming that bring the news to viewers at more times of day.

"This is a trend I think that you will see continuing going forward," Russell said. "Local stations are going to be producing more local news, because there is definitely an audience for it."

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Heart of Illinois ABC and 25 News combine Peoria TV operations