Culture Secretary John Whittingdale has questioned whether the BBC and ITV should continue to air late-night news at the same time.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge, Whittingdale asked whether the 10 o'clock clash was "sensible", noting the impact the BBC has on other broadcasters.
"It is important to look at the impact the BBC has on commercial rivals," he said.
"To give one example, is it sensible its main evening news bulletin goes out at the same time as ITV's?"
He confirmed that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is "commissioning independent research into some of the BBC's impact on the market."
Whittingdale was also critical of BBC One for not making more distinctive programming, and said that iPlayer should be made available outside of the UK.
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"It is only right that for someone who has paid access to a subscription service - or even just a licence fee - to be able to access that content on holiday overseas," he argued.
"That's why I urge the broadcaster to make their content available, and to come forward with proposals for portability and how this can be made to work for the industry."
It had earlier been announced by the culture secretary that there would be a review into how the BBC is governed and regulated.
He said that decisions made should explore how the BBC "fits into the contemporary broadcasting landscape and how it might be even better", though he said that there was "no threat to the BBC's status as a world class broadcaster".
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
