BBC Three

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This article is about the British television channel. For other uses, see BBC3 (disambiguation).

BBC Three
BBC Three logo.svg
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom and other services worldwide
HeadquartersBBC Three Studio, MediaCityUK, Salford, England, UK
Programming
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerBBC
Sister channelsBBC One
BBC Two
BBC Four
BBC News
BBC Parliament
CBBC
CBeebies
History
Launched9 February 2003; 18 years ago (2003-02-09)
ReplacedBBC Choice
Closed16 February 2016; 5 years ago (2016-02-16) (ceased remaining operations on 31 March)
Replaced byCBBC (extended hours 19:00–21:00)
Services moved online only, see: BBC Three (online)
Links
Websitewww.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree
Availability
(at time of closure)
Terrestrial
FreeviewChannel 7
Channel 107 (HD)
Cable
Virgin MediaChannel 106
Channel 163 (HD)
WightFibreChannel 23
Virgin Media IrelandChannel 116
Ziggo (Netherlands)Channel 63
Kabeltex (Netherlands)Channel 163
Telenet (Belgium)Channel 565
Naxoo (Switzerland)Channel 215
Satellite
FreesatChannel 106 (SD/HD)
Channel 147 (SD)
Sky (UK)Channel 115 (SD/HD)
Channel 210 (SD)
Sky (Ireland)Channel 210
Astra 2E10818 V 22000 5/6
10847 V 23000 2/3 (HD)
IPTV
BT TVChannel 105 (HD)
SwisscomTV
(Switzerland)		Channel arbitrary
KPN (Netherlands)Channel 59

BBC Three was a British free-to-air 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.[1]

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. It also carried occasional BBC Sport programming as an overflow for the BBC's other channels. The former controller of the station, Zai Bennett,[2] left to join Sky Atlantic in July 2014, at which point BBC Three commissioner Sam Bickley became acting controller.[3]

Until March 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.[1] 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 an "open" 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.[4][5] Despite significant public opposition, the proposal was provisionally approved by the BBC Trust in June 2015,[6] with a new consultation open until 30 September of that year. The linear channel ceased operations on 16 February 2016, replaced by a BBC Three-branded streaming channel on the iPlayer.[7] A late-night strand of BBC Three original programmes has been aired by BBC One on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights since March 2019.

On 20 May 2020, it was stated within the BBC's annual plan that the corporation was "considering the case" for returning BBC Three to linear television, citing a number of successful programmes that had aired on the service.[8] On 2 March 2021, the BBC confirmed that it planned to relaunch BBC Three's linear television channel in January 2022 subject to regulatory approval.[9] On 16 September 2021, the UK media regulator Ofcom announced provisional approval for allowing BBC Three to return as a broadcast channel.[10]

History[]

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 was born on 9 February 2003.[11] 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.[12] It was later moved to channel 210 on 3 July 2012, to free up space for new channels. It was moved to 115.

For the duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics, BBC Three increased its broadcasting hours to 24 hours to provide extra coverage of Olympic events.[13] Broadcast hours were extended again for the 2014 Commonwealth Games with BBC Three broadcasting from 9:00 am to 4:00 am for the duration of the games.[14] On 16 July 2013 the BBC announced that a high-definition (HD) simulcast of BBC Three would be launched by early 2014.[15] The channel launched on 10 December 2013.[16]

Replacement by internet service[]

In February 2014, BBC Director-General Tony Hall announced that cuts of £100 million would have to be made at the corporation; Hall stated that the corporation could be forced to close one of its television services as a cost-savings measure.[4] On 5 March 2014, Hall announced a proposal to convert BBC Three to an online-only service, with an almost 50% cut in its programming budget, and a larger emphasis on short form content due to the cut in funding.[5][17] These changes formed part of a package of proposals from the BBC, including extending CBBC's hours, reallocating £30 million on BBC One audiences for drama, and launching a one-hour timeshift channel of BBC One.[18] There was notable backlash against the measures, with celebrities including Greg James, Matt Lucas and Jack Whitehall speaking out.[19] A petition against the move on change.org has gathered over 300,000 signatures. However, there was some support from media commentators, and those who backed a "slimmer" BBC.[20][21]

When the BBC revealed the full detail in December 2014, it admitted there was widespread opposition from BBC Three viewers[17] but said there was support for the wider package of proposals. They believed the public welcomed a BBC One +1 as it admits "a vast majority of viewing still takes place on linear channels".[17] The "Save BBC Three'" campaign pointed out this was a contradiction to what the BBC said about BBC Three.[22] The BBC Trust began a 28-day public consultation regarding the plans on 20 January 2015[23] and it ended with a protest outside Broadcasting House.[24] As part of the consultation a letter of 750 names against the move from the creative industry was sent to the BBC Trust, and this had the backing of a number of celebrities including Daniel Radcliffe, Aidan Turner, Olivia Colman and Lena Headey.[25] The polling company ICM concluded a "large majority" of those that replied to the consultation were against the move,[22] with respondents particularly concerned about those who cannot stream programming online, the effect of the content budget cuts, and the BBC's own admission the audience numbers would drop.[22]

Nonetheless, the BBC Trust issued its final decision to approve the transition in November 2015, citing the fact that younger audiences have increasingly migrated to online television content as opposed to linear television channels, and the BBC's ability to "deliver more distinctive content online, while bearing down on costs". Conditions were imposed on other BBC properties to complement the changes; BBC One and Two will be required to develop "distinctive programmes designed for younger audiences", as well as air encores of all full-length programmes that originally premiere on the BBC Three online service. The Trust also approved related proposals to allow first-run and third-party content on iPlayer, as well as extend CBBC's broadcast day to 9:00 p.m. The BBC One timeshift service was rejected, citing "limited public value".[26][27] Jimmy Mulville and Jon Thoday of independent production companies Hat Trick Productions and Avalon reportedly considered legal action against the Trust if it went ahead with the closure of the channel.[28] They had previously offered to buy the channel to keep it on television, but the BBC said the channel was not up for sale.[29]

BBC Three ended regular programming during the early morning of 16 February 2016. Its final programme was an episode of Gavin & Stacey, introduced by co-star James Corden from the Los Angeles studio of his U.S. talk show The Late Late Show.[30][31] The channel space carried promotional information regarding the BBC Three online service until it officially shut down on 31 March.[32][33][34]

Since March 2019, programmes from the new service have been carried by BBC One from Monday to Wednesday after the BBC News at Ten.[35][36]

Return to linear television[]

In May 2020, the BBC submitted its annual general plan for 2020–2021. It stated that the broadcaster was considering reinstating BBC Three as a linear channel with a doubled budget, citing that its content "now has the potential to reach a wider audience on a linear channel, as well as the key demographic which will continue to watch online.”[37] A number of series carried by the service, including Fleabag and Normal People, had achieved strong critical acclaim, with Fleabag in particular winning multiple Primetime Emmy Awards.[38][39]

On 2 March 2021, the BBC officially announced plans to reinstate BBC Three as a linear channel by January 2022, subject to approval by Ofcom. As before, it will timeshare with the CBBC channel and broadcast from 7:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. nightly. There will be pre-watershed programming targeting teenagers as part of the schedule,[38][40]

On 16 September 2021, the UK media regulator Ofcom announced provisional approval for allowing BBC Three to return as a broadcast channel in 2022. As a public service channel it has the right to appear in the top 24 channels on EPGs. Sky complained that this would cause other channels to be bumped down the list to a less prominent position.[41][42]

Programming[]

The remit of BBC Three is to bring younger audiences to high quality public service broadcasting through a mixed-genre schedule of innovative UK content featuring new UK talent. The channel should use the full range of digital platforms to deliver its content and to build an interactive relationship with its audience. The channel's target audience is 16–34-year-olds.

— BBC Three Remit[1]

The channel's target audience was 16��34-year-olds,[43] and it faced heavy competition from rivals including ITV2 and E4,[44] for an audience that the BBC has traditionally had difficulty in attracting. In 2008 it reached 26.3% of 16–34-year-olds in digital homes—the channel's highest ever such reach and above that of E4, ITV2, Dave and Sky 1.[45]

On average, nine million people watched BBC Three every week,[46] and it had a 2.6% share of the 15–34-year-old audience and 1.4% of the whole population, according to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB). These ratings by BARB, the official ratings agency, average out BBC Three's viewing figures over a 24-hour period even though the channel only broadcasts in the evening, giving a distorted sense of the channel's viewership. Despite several official complaints from the BBC, BARB continued to publish figures which the BBC argues are unrepresentative.[when?][citation needed]

BBC Three's programming consisted of comedy, drama, spin-off series and repeated episodes of series from BBC One and BBC Two, and other programmes that attempted to alert others of their actions through a series of programmes challenging common beliefs.

An example of BBC Three's comedy output includes the award-winning comedy Little Britain, which in October 2004 broke its previous viewing record when 1.8 million viewers tuned in for a new series.[47] Little Britain was later broadcast on the BBC's terrestrial analogue channels BBC One and BBC Two. The channel's longest-running comedy programme is Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Some current programmes feature stand-up comedians performing their own take on a subject, usually the news, examples of which include Russell Howard's Good News (which later transferred to BBC Two, partly due to its success, and partly to BBC Three's move to online only) and Lee Nelson's Well Good Show.

Comedy and drama[]

The channel aired various comedies and dramas; one of its most popular sitcoms was Gavin & Stacey, which first aired in May 2007 and was written by and starred James Corden and Ruth Jones. The sitcom was an instant hit, with subsequent series being moved to other BBC channels and the show being granted a Christmas special. Another example is Being Human, a drama in which a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf share a flat, which has become a success and heralded several new series. American programming also features, with American Dad! and Family Guy being the notable examples.

Numerous popular series were either repeated on the channel or have spin-offs created from them. In early 2003, viewers could watch episodes of popular BBC soap opera EastEnders on BBC Three before they were broadcast on BBC One. This programming decision coincided with the relaunch of the channel and helped it break the one million viewers milestone for the first time. An episode of EastEnders Revealed, which was commissioned for BBC Three and looking behind the scenes of the programme, attracted 611,000 viewers. In 2005, BBC Three commissioned the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, which was shown immediately after episodes of the new series of Doctor Who had been screened on BBC One. This was followed up in July 2005, when it began to screen repeats of both programmes.

In October 2005, it was announced that BBC Three had commissioned a spin-off drama series from Doctor Who, Torchwood, designed as a post-watershed science fiction drama for a more adult audience. Torchwood launched with 2.4 million viewers in October 2006.[48] Torchwood is the first science fiction programme ever to have been commissioned by the channel, and its popularity led to it being broadcast on BBC Two for the second series, and on BBC One for subsequent series. In 2010, BBC Three began airing episodes of the fifth series of BBC drama series Waterloo Road after they had aired on BBC One as part of its 'catch-up' programming. From January 2015, BBC Three aired the remaining episodes of Waterloo Road before being repeated on BBC One later the same day.[49]

Among its original programming, the channel also gave viewers the comedy-drama Pramface, which was written by Chris Reddy and comprised 19 episodes over three series, broadcast between 2012 and 2014.

Documentaries[]

BBC Three also airs highly acclaimed documentaries reflecting young people's experience of the world, including the BAFTA-winning Our War, Blood, Sweat and T-shirts (as well as subsequent sequels), Life & Death Row and their recent[when?] season of films about mental illness. BBC Three also broadcasts specialist factual documentaries, such as How Drugs Work and How Sex Works.

Stacey Dooley, since her appearance on Blood, Sweat and T-shirts in 2008, has been presenting documentaries including: Stacey Dooley in the USA (2012–14), Coming Here Soon (2012), The Natives: This is our America (2017), Beaten by My Boyfriend (2015), Stacey Dooley in Cologne: The Blame Game (2016), Sex in Strange Places (2016), Stacey Dooley: Hate and Pride in Orlando (2016), Stacey Dooley on the Frontline: Girls, Guns and Isis (2016), Brainwashing Stacey (2016), Stacey Dooley: Face to Face with Isis (2018), and countless more titles under the umbrella title Stacey Dooley Investigates (2009–present).[50][51]

BBC Three has also commissioned a number of notable single one-off documentaries, including Growing Up Down's (2014), My Brother the Islamist (2011), Small Teen Big World (2010); Stormchaser: The Butterfly and the Tornado (2012) and The Autistic Me (2009). Many are commissioned through BBC Three's FRESH scheme; providing an opportunity for 'the next generation of directors' to make their first 60-minute documentary for the channel.[52]

News and sport[]

The channel featured hourly news updates called 60 Seconds, presented by Sam Naz during the week, which included the top news, sport and entertainment stories. They were presented in a relaxed style in keeping with the rest of the channel. As part of the BBC's discussions with the government regarding the founding of the channel, a longer news programme had been promised to provide a daily section of news and current affairs. The News Show, as it came to be called upon launch, was later rebranded The 7 O'Clock News. However, the BBC discontinued the bulletin in 2005, following a recommendation made in the 2004 Barwise Report, which found that the channel's target audience sought news from elsewhere.[53]

The channel also showed some sports programming. Match of the Day Live broadcast international football matches featuring Wales, often when an England match was being shown on BBC One. The channel also showed some matches of England's Women's team. The 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments were shown on the channel.[54]

List of series[]

General comedy

One-off comedy pilots/specials

  • Sort-It-Out-Man (2003)
  • The Bunk Bed Boys (2004)
  • Sweet and Sour (2004)
  • From Bard to Verse (2004)
  • Killing Time (2004)
  • Hurrah for Cancer (2004)
  • AD/BC: A Rock Opera (2004)
  • 10:96: Training Night (2005)
  • Marigold (2005)
  • Cubby Couch (2006)
  • Bash (2007)
  • Living With Two People You Like Individually... But Not As A Couple (2007)
  • Under One Roof (2007)
  • Green (2007)
  • Moonmonkeys (2007)
  • Be More Ethnic (2007)
  • Biffovision (2007)
  • Splitting Cells (2007)
  • Placebo (2008)
  • Delta Forever (2008)
  • Torn Up Tales (2008)
  • Barely Legal (2008)
  • MeeBOX (2008)
  • LifeSpam: My Child Is French (2009)
  • Ketch! And HIRO-PON Get It On (2009)
  • Vidiotic (2009)
  • Things Talk (2009)
  • Brave Young Men (2009)
  • Mark's Brilliant Blog (2009)
  • May Contain Nuts (2009)
  • The Site (2009)
  • Above Their Station (2010)
  • This Is Jinsy (2010)
  • Laughter Shock (2010)
  • Stanley Park (2010)
  • Dappers (2010)
  • The Inn Mates (2010)
  • The Klang Show (2010)
  • The Adventures Of Daniel (2010)
  • D.O.A. (2010)
  • Chris Moyles' Comedy Empire (2012)
  • The Comedy Marathon Spectacular (2012)
  • An Idiot's Guide To Politics (2015)
  • The Totally Senseless Gameshow (2015)

Sketch comedy

Comedy gameshow

Sitcom

  • Swiss Toni (2003–2004)
  • Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2003–2011)
  • Grass (2003)
  • Nighty Night (2004)
  • 15 Storeys High (2004)
  • Catterick (2004)
  • Cyderdelic (2004)
  • Coupling (2004)
  • The Mighty Boosh (2004–2007)
  • The Smoking Room (2004–2005)
  • My Life In Film (2004)
  • Ideal (2005–2011)
  • I'm with Stupid (2005–2006)
  • Snuff Box (2006)
  • Grownups (2006–2009)
  • Live!Girls! present Dogtown (2006)
  • Pulling (2006–2009)
  • Thieves Like Us (2007)
  • Gavin & Stacey (2007–2008)
  • Coming of Age (2007–2011)
  • The Visit (2007)
  • How Not to Live Your Life (2007–2011)
  • Lunch Monkeys (2008–2011)
  • Trexx and Flipside (2008)
  • Massive (2008)
  • Clone (2008)
  • Off the Hook (2009)
  • We Are Klang (2009)
  • The Gemma Factor (2010)
  • Mongrels (2010–2011)
  • Him & Her (2010–2013)
  • White Van Man (2011–2012)
  • Pramface (2012–2014)
  • Dead Boss (2012)
  • Bad Education (2012–2014)
  • Cuckoo (2012–2014)
  • Some Girls (2012–2014)
  • Way to Go (2013)
  • Bluestone 42 (2013)
  • Badults (2013–2014)
  • Uncle (2014–2015)
  • Siblings (2014–2016)
  • Crims (2015)
  • Murder in Successville (2015)
  • Top Coppers (2015)
  • Fried (2015)
  • Together (2015)
  • Josh (2015)

Comedy drama

Live Music/Stand-up Comedy

  • Paul and Pauline Calf's Cheese and Ham Sandwich (2003)
  • Glastonbury Festival (2003–2015)
  • The Fast Show Farewell Tour (2003)
  • Eurovision Song Contest (2004–2015)
  • 28 Acts in 28 Minutes (2005)
  • MOBO Awards (2006–2013)
  • The Mighty Boosh Live (2008)
  • Russell Howard Live (2009)
  • Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live (2010–2014)
  • Russell Howard Live: Dingledodies (2010)
  • Three@TheFringe (2011)
  • Simon Amstell: Do Nothing Live (2011) 
  • Stand Up For Sport Relief (2012)
  • Live at the Electric (2012–2014)
  • Chris Ramsey's Comedy Fringe (2012)
  • Greg Davies Live: Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog (2012)
  • Russell Howard: Right Here, Right Now (2012)
  • Russell Kane: Smokescreens & Castles (2012)
  • Lee Nelson Live (2013)
  • Seann Walsh's Late Night Comedy Spectacular (2013–2014)
  • Kevin Bridges - The Story Continues (2013)
  • Jack Whitehall Live (2013)
  • Nick Helm's Heavy Entertainment (2015)

Drama

Documentary

  • Appleton On Appleton (2003)
  • Dreamspaces (2003–2004)
  • Liquid Assets (2003–2004)
  • Fatboy Slim: Musical Hooligan (2003)
  • Body Hits (2003)
  • Posh & Becks' Big Impression: Behind the Scenes & Extra Bits (2003)
  • Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves (2004)
  • Destination Three (2005)
  • Spendaholics (2005–2008)
  • Doctor Who Confidential (2005–2011)
  • Generation Jedi (2005)
  • Forty Years of F*** (2005)
  • Kick Ass Miracles (2005)
  • F*** Off I'm Fat (2006)
  • Torchwood Declassified (2006)
  • Most Annoying People (2006–2011)
  • Freaky Eaters (2007–2009)
  • Body Image (2007)
  • Castaway: The Last 24 Hours and Castaway Exposed (2007)
  • Kick Ass in a Crisis (2007)
  • The Bulls**t Detective (2007)
  • Say No to the Knife (2007)
  • Pranks Galore (2007)
  • The Most Annoying TV We Hate to Love (2007)
  • The Most Annoying Pop Songs We Hate To Love (2007)
  • Find Me the Face (2008)
  • The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space (2008)
  • Blood, Sweat and T-shirts (2008)
  • Alesha: Look But Don't Touch (2008)
  • The Most Annoying Couples We Love to Hate (2008)
  • Gavin and Stacey 12 Days of Christmas (2008)
  • Two Pints: Fags, Lads and Kebabs (2009)
  • Comic Relief's Naughty Bits (2009)
  • Two Pints: The Love Triangle (2009)
  • Blood, Sweat and Takeaways (2010)
  • The Autistic Me (2009)
  • Stacey Dooley Investigates (2009–2015)
  • My Life as an Animal (2009)
  • Great Movie Mistakes (2010–2012)
  • Blood, Sweat and Luxuries (2010)
  • Small Teen Big World (2010)
  • Great TV Mistakes (2010)
  • Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents (2011–2015)
  • Pop's Greatest Dance Crazes (2011)
  • My Brother the Islamist (2011)
  • Stormchaser: The Butterfly and the Tornado (2011)
  • Stacey Dooley in the USA (2012–14)
  • Coming Here Soon (2012)
  • Unsafe Sex in the City (2012)
  • Websex: What's the Harm? (2012)
  • People Like Us (2013)
  • Hotel of Mum and Dad (2013–2014)
  • Cherry Healey: Old Before My Time (2013)
  • Doctor Who: Greatest Monsters & Villains (2013)
  • Tough Young Teachers (2014)
  • Growing Up Down's (2014)
  • Junior Paramedics (2014)
  • Life and Death Row (2014)
  • Invasion of the Job Snatchers (2014)
  • My Brother the Terrorist (2014)
  • Tyger Takes On... (2014–2015)
  • Excluded: Kicked Out of School (2015)
  • Bangkok Airport (2015)
  • Beaten by my Boyfriend (2015)
  • Traffic Cops (2016)
  • Sex in Strange Places (2016)

Chat show

Repeats

  • The Murder Game (2003)
  • Angry Kid (2003)
  • Absolutely Fabulous (series 5) (2003)
  • EastEnders (2003–2016)
  • Spooks (2003–2009)
  • Strictly Come Dancing (2004–2015)
  • Doctor Who (2005–2016)
  • Top Gear (2006–2016)
  • That Mitchell and Webb Look (2006–2010)
  • Giving You Everything (2008)
  • Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions (2008–2009)
  • The Voice UK (2012–2015)
  • Live at the Apollo (2015–2016)

Unscripted and reality

Imports

  • American Dad! (2007–2016)
  • Family Guy (2006–2016)
  • Jonah From Tonga (2014)
  • Devin (2010)

Most watched programmes[]

The following is a list of the ten most watched broadcasts on BBC3 since launch, based on Live +7 data supplied by BARB.[55] Number of viewers does not include repeats.

Rank Programme Viewers Date
1 EastEnders Live: The Aftermath 4,537,000 19 February 2010
2 Olympics 2012 4,289,000 11 August 2012
3 2,771,000 1 August 2012
4 Torchwood 2,510,000 22 October 2006
5 2,498,000
6 Olympics 2012 2,368,000 29 July 2012
7 EastEnders: Backstage Live 2,257,000 20 February 2015
8 Olympics 2012 2,162,000 4 August 2012
9 Match of the Day Live 2,069,000 26 June 2013
10 Weakest Link: EastEnders Special 2,005,000 19 February 2010

Presentation[]

Main article: BBC Three idents
One of the former BBC Three "Blobs"
The Discovery package was in action from October 2013 – January 2016, prior to the channel's online move

The channel's original idents were conceived by Stefan Marjoram at Aardman Animations and were used from launch until February 2008. Stuart Murphy was touring Aardman Animations looking for new programming ideas for BBC Three when he spotted the cone shaped creatures, he then took the idea back to the Lambie-Nairn agency, responsible for the BBC Three identity package.[56] A feature of this identity is also the music "Three Is The Magic Number", based (only the lyrics are copied) upon Schoolhouse Rock!.

BBC Online provided a number of downloads and activities based on the channel's identity, these included "BlobMate", screensavers, wallpapers and also games such as BlobLander and BlobBert. The idea used by both Lambie-Nairn, who had developed the branding for CBeebies and CBBC, and Aardman, was to create the BBC Three blobs as a relation to the green and yellow blobs of the children's channels. Kieron Elliott, Lola Buckley, Gavin Inskip and Jen Long provided out-of-vision continuity.

On 22 January 2008 a new channel identity was unveiled. Rebranding was carried out by Red Bee Media, along with agencies MPG and Agency Republic with music and sound design by creative audio company Koink.[57]

The Discovery idents were introduced in October 2013 and lasted until January 2016, retaining the logo from 2008. The idents follow the theme of "discovery", and were designed by Claire Powell at Red Bee Media.[58] The soundtrack for the idents was composed by Chris Branch and Tom Haines at Brains & Hunch.[59]

On 4 January 2016, alongside the announcement of the date on which the channel will become an internet-only service, a third logo was unveiled. Inspired by the iconography of mobile applications, the new logo incorporates the Roman numeral for the number 3, with the third bar replaced by an exclamation mark. Marketing head Nikki Carr explained that the three bars represented the three principles of BBC Three as a service; making viewers "think", "laugh", and have a voice.[60]

Awards[]

The channel has had critical and popular successes. Most recently, it won Broadcast Magazine's Digital Channel of the Year Award for Best General Entertainment Channel,[61] and MGEITF Non Terrestrial Channel of the Year.

It won more awards in its eleven-year broadcast history than its commercial rivals (Sky 1, Sky Living, E4, ITV2, Channel 5 and Comedy Central) have won in their combined 25-year history. In total BBC Three has won 7 BAFTA awards, 5 British Comedy Awards, 15 Royal Television Society Awards and 5 Rose d'Or Awards since the channel was launched in February 2003.

In 2008, BBC Three's Gavin & Stacey won the BAFTA audience award and the best comedy performance award was awarded to James Corden for his part.[62]

Criticism[]

The channel came in for criticism from several corners, the most prominent of which came from some of the BBC's long-standing presenters. These included John Humphrys, who argued that BBC Three and BBC Four should be shut down in the face of budget cuts to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, which he presents, as well as Jeremy Paxman.[63][64]

In July 2010 a UK music magazine printed a letter from the pressure group Friends of Radio 3 that criticised BBC Three for having 'comedies, game shows, films and documentaries, but no arts programming at all'.[65] In a later issue another correspondent endorsed this assessment on the basis of a search through issues of the Radio Times, and cast doubt on the BBC's claim (in the document Performance Against Public Commitments 2009/10) that the channel broadcast '54 hours of new music and arts programming' in that year.[66] Two months later the same correspondent wrote in to inform readers that the BBC had refused his 'Freedom of Information' request concerning the titles of the programmes used in calculating the '54 hours' total.[67]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "BBC Three Service Licence" (PDF). BBC Trust. September 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Zai Bennett announced as new BBC Three controller". BBC News. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  3. ^ "BBC Three appoints new channel boss Sam Bickley". BBC News. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Plunkett, John (26 February 2014). "BBC could axe frontline channel or service as it seeks extra £100m in cuts". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "BBC Three to be axed and move online". BBC News. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  6. ^ "BBC Three online move approved by BBC Trust". BBC News. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  7. ^ "BBC Three to move online from February". BBC News. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  8. ^ "BBC Three could return as full TV channel". BBC News. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  9. ^ "BBC Three to return as a broadcast channel in January 2022". BBC. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  10. ^ https://www.nme.com/news/tv/bbc-three-confirmed-return-tv-channel-3048525
  11. ^ "BBC Three digital channel launches". BBC News. 10 February 2003.
  12. ^ "Ireland: Extra BBC channels being added to Sky EPG". The Airwaves. 2 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 May 2011.
  13. ^ "The Olympics on BBC Three". BBC Three. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
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