KPLR (Channel 11) has made the move of its news official. The newscast expands to an hour and moves to 7 p.m. from 9 p.m. as of Sept. 8. Weekend news will disappear. The weeknight move will push CW network programming to 8-10 p.m. (in effect, Eastern time) from 7-9 p.m. (Imagine trying to get all those promos straight!)

General manager Bill Lanesey explains that people getting home later, maybe because of the I-64 disruption, may not have time to watch a 6 p.m. newscast, let alone one at 5 p.m. Those folks may be eager to come home, relax, have dinner with the family and then catch the news at 7 p.m., when the Channel 11 hour will be the only option. Viewership (households using television, or HUTS) are higher as the evening goes on, too, so CW shows may benefit from higher ratings. A side benefit: R-rated “Gossip Girl” will air at 8 p.m., not 7!

I’ll attach the official statement below, but there’s little chance that this isn’t the end of the story. The Tribune TV stations (now owned by the eccentric Sam Zell) have a deal with Local TV LLC that will put all both groups’ stations under shared management. Local TV LLC is the new owner of KTVI (Channel 2), and there’s much speculation that the deal could result in Fox 2 running CW 11. What was Fox’s 2’s only competition for its 9 p.m. newscast? You got it.

Here’s the statement from KPLR:

Beginning September 8, 2008, Tribune Broadcasting’s CW Television Network affiliate, KPLR CW 11 will make a change in the programming line-up.

CW 11 News will move to 7PM Monday through Friday and expand the newscast to one-hour, making it the only local, early news in prime time.  “We feel there is a real opportunity to reach the news audience whose busy lifestyles may not allow them to be home in time for news that is over by 6:15 in the evening,” said Sheldon Ripson, CW 11 News Director.

With news moving into the first hour of prime time, the station will slide The CW Television Network’s programming to one hour later, beginning at 8PM.

“Research shows that the last hour of prime on the other stations skews older, so we will be offering a unique choice to younger viewers, notably in the 9 o’clock hour,” said Bill Lanesey, Vice President and General Manager for KPLR-TV.  The main audience for The CW programming is 18-34.  “In St. Louis, the number of adults in that demographic who are watching television is nearly five rating points higher between 9PM-10PM, rather than 7PM-8PM,”added Lanesey.

This unprecedented move came with the involvement and blessing of The CW executives in Los Angeles. “We have worked with Bill Lanesey and Tribune over the last number of months on this matter. We respect the needs of our affiliates and their knowledge of their own individual marketplace,” said Elizabeth Tumulty, senior vice president for distribution at the CW.  “As a new network constantly exploring innovative ways to drive ratings, we support KPLR’s initiative to improve their business and will work in concert with them to make this experiment a success.”

The change will take place the week of September 8, 2008; one week after The CW season premieres air.  The strategy is to speak directly to the core audience of hit shows like “Gossip Girl,”  “Smallville” and “America’s Next Top Model” as to where they will find their favorite CW programs in the future.

In a related move, on weeknights, the station will switch “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Two and a Half Men” to 6PM and 6:30PM, respectively.  “Two and a Half Men” is the perfect adult audience to lead into our expanded prime time news,” said Lanesey.