BBC Three (former)
| BBC Three | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 9 February 2003 |
| Closed | 16 February 2016 |
| Owned by | BBC |
| Picture format | 576i (16:9 SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audience share | 1.16% (September 2015, BARB) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Replaced | BBC Choice |
| Replaced by | BBC Three (online) |
| Website | www |
BBC Three was a British television channel operated by the BBC. Launched on 9 February 2003 as a replacement for BBC Choice, the service's remit was to provide "innovative" programming to a target audience of viewers between 16 and 34 years old, leveraging technology as well as new talent.
Unlike its commercial rivals, 90% of BBC Three's output originated from the United Kingdom. 70% was original, covering all genres, including animation, comedy, current affairs, and drama. BBC Three had a unique 60 Seconds format for its news bulletins, adopted so that operation of the channel could be completely automated, without the complication of dealing with variable length live news broadcasts. The former controller of the station, Zai Bennett, left to join Sky Atlantic in July 2014, at which point BBC Three commissioner Sam Bickley became acting controller.
Until February 2016, the network broadcast on Freeview, digital cable, IPTV and Satellite television platforms, and was on-air from 7 pm to around 4 am each night to share terrestrial television bandwidth with CBBC. In March 2014, as a result of a planned £100 million budget cut across the BBC, it was proposed that BBC Three be discontinued as a television service, and be converted to an over-the-top internet television service with a smaller programming budget and a focus on short-form productions. Despite significant public opposition, the proposal was provisionally approved by the BBC Trust in June 2015, with a new consultation open until 30 September of that year. The TV channel ceased operations on 16 February 2016, replaced by an online-only version.
In late 2001 the BBC decided to reposition and rebrand their two digital channels so that they could be more closely linked to the well established BBC One and BBC Two. Their plan was for BBC Knowledge to be replaced with BBC Four—which took place in 2002—and for BBC Choice to be replaced with BBC Three. However, questions were raised over the proposed format of the new BBC Three, as some thought the new format would be too similar to the BBC's commercial rivals, namely ITV2 and E4, and would be unnecessary competition. The channel was eventually given the go ahead, eleven months after the original launch date, and launched on 9 February 2003. The channel was launched by Stuart Murphy, who previously ran BBC Choice, and before that UK Play, the now-discontinued UKTV music and comedy channel. At 33, Murphy was still the youngest channel controller in the country, a title he had held since launching UK Play at the age of 26; although on 20 October 2005 it was announced that Murphy was soon to leave the channel to work in commercial television. On 12 May 2011, BBC Three was added to the Sky EPG in the Republic of Ireland on channel 229. It was later moved to channel 210 on 3 July 2012, to free up space for new channels.
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