The Spinoff website's first foray into TV has been bumped back to 10.45pm on TV3, just three weeks after it launched.

Three announced on Tuesday the hour long show would be replaced in its original 9.45pm timeslot by new episodes of Fail Army.

The scheduling change is permanent, according to an amended schedule released by Three's owner MediaWorks.

DAVIDE ZERILLI The Spinoff's Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden are fronting The Spinoff TV, which offers highlights of the week's internet coverage plus extras, including regular online features, commentary and a TV-take on the website's podcasts.

Spinoff TV, hosted by Spinoff web writers Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden, covers the week's best internet stories, and includes news commentary and a TV-take on the website's podcasts.

The show was in a slot formerly reserved for comedy and current affairs-lite shows.

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THREE The Spinoff TV's online tease

The mastermind behind the show, former The Spinoff editor Duncan Greive, was remaining positive about the change, but did admit initially the news came as a bit of a blow.

"Obviously I was like, that sucks and what are people going to think, but the more I thought about it, I thought it was precisely what we needed and I think we are going to learn who we are," he said.

"If we did it sincerely and fully it was going to be quite confronting to people who were used to watching conventional television. It's not all slick and proper, and all kinds of motion graphics and perfectly managed.

SUPPLIED Duncan Greive, The Spinoff founder and managing editor

"It was always going to sink or swim and whatever happened was going to happen to us very quickly."

Greive said he was telling his staff to take the news as an opportunity to become the "weird, funny, sharp, bitting, late night show" that they had set out to be.

"I think we'll continue finding our voice and, in a lot of ways, outside of the intense glare of primetime, we can lean into this weirdness to be even more ourselves."

New Zealand On Air funded the show with nearly $700,000 of taxpayers' money.

NZOA spokeswoman Allanah Kalafatelis said the performance of The Spinoff TV was not just about how good the TV ratings were, but about how the show did online, in video views and audience engagement.

"The concept of a hybrid output of online content and a TV current affairs satire show was a new, innovative idea and one we thought deserved a shot," she said.

"We are always keen to see brave, new ideas. It's how new talent rises up."

MediaWorks spokesman Jason Antill said Three was still committed to the show.

"We are moving it to a later time where it can consolidate and develop a dedicated audience," he said.

Former TVNZ news head Bill Ralston said that sort of approach was normal in the television industry.

"I've seen programmes do that. They've been slid back to later in the evening and suddenly they find their natural audience," he said.

"It doesn't necessarily mean the death of a show, it just means that it might mean that a few more people are freed up at that time to actually watch it at 10:45."

Spinoff TV airs at 10.45pm from Friday on Three.