Lowe will now have four hour-long shows from Monday to Thursday and these have been brought forward from 8pm to 7pm so that the DJ acts as a bridge from daytime Radio 1 to the specialist evening line up.
The move sees Dave Pearce lose his drivetime slot, with Edith and Colin's afternoon show being extended by an hour.
Other key changes include punk metal show The Lock Up being brought forward from 2am to 9pm as part of Tuesday night's rock strand; Bobby and Nihal's Asian beats show moving forward to 9pm from 3am as part of a Wednesday night urban strand; and electric chill-out show The Blue Room, hosted by DJs Rob Da Bank and Chris Coco, gaining an extra show on Sunday mornings as well as its Saturday morning show at 5-7am.
Newcomer Annie Mac will host a club music night on Thursdays, and a new 'Experimental' slot every week day at 3am,showcasing the new and unusual from the worlds of muic, comedy and art.
A Radio 1 spokesman said: "This move is very much about introducing the right genres at the right times of day, for instance having dance music DJs on at times when people are ready to go clubbing and bringing some shows forward in the schedule as their importance to our listeners has increased. In this sense there is an emotional attachment to the schedule."
The main casualties are dance music DJ Seb Fontaine, who is said to have parted amicably with the station, freeing up his time to play at more clubs on Saturday evenings; and Dave Pearce, who has moved off drivetime to allow more time for Zane Lowe. However, Pearce's Dance Anthems show continues on Sundays.
Lowe said: "It has always been my goal to do more than preach to the converted. By giving me a new time slot that gets me more into the daytime I am going to become a music missionary for all those listeners who may not know how much exciting new music they are missing out on."
Lowe was poached from Xfm, the station which has built its reputation on pioneering new and alternative music, earlier this year. Radio 1 has also recently experienced a daytime reorganisation under controller Andy Parfitt.
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