BBC Trust Approves BBC Three Move, iPlayer Expansion

LONDON: BBC Trust has made decisions on a range of proposals for the public broadcaster, including moving BBC Three online and expanding the iPlayer to be more than a catch-up service.

The pubcaster’s trustees determined that there is a “clear public value” in making BBC Three an online-only service, “as independent evidence shows younger audiences are watching more online and watching less linear TV. The move will also contribute to the significant savings the BBC is currently making.”

Upon closure of the BBC Three TV channel, all of its long-form shows must be broadcast during slots on BBC One and BBC Two at a variety of times across the schedule and throughout the U.K.

BBC Trust also gave the go-ahead to extending the hours of CBBC to 9 p.m. Plus, the iPlayer can be developed into a broader offering with online-first and third-party content. The governing body nixed plans for a BBC One +1 channel.

BBC Trustee Suzanna Taverne, Chair of the Trust’s Services Committee, said, "The decision to close a TV channel is a difficult one, and one we have not taken lightly. The BBC must adapt with its audiences; the evidence is very clear that younger audiences are watching more online and less linear TV. The plans enable the BBC to deliver more distinctive content online, while bearing down on costs; to address concerns about the impact of moving BBC Three online, we have set new requirements for programs for younger audiences on BBC One and Two."

Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three, commented, “Today is just the beginning for BBC Three and our plans to transform our offer for young people. We have lots of new content coming in 2016 and exciting new ways of delivering it in development. We will now set about launching a digital-first BBC Three in early 2016.”

In a blog post, Kavanagh elaborated on his plans for an online-only BBC Three. “BBC Three is not closing, we are reinventing online. We will not be a scheduled 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. linear broadcast TV channel, but we will be everywhere else giving you the freedom to choose what to watch when you want. We will be available on BBC iPlayer on connected TV’s and via set-top boxes and consoles like the PS4 so you can watch on a big TV with friends, if you want. We will be on mobiles and tablets so you can watch on your own in the bath, if you want. The truth is we will be available to you in more places than ever before including linear TV. All our shows will be on BBC One or BBC Two so you can watch on traditional TV, if you want.”

He continued, “We have overhauled what we make to fulfill what young people told us they wanted—content that makes them think, makes them laugh and gives them a voice.”

Kavanagh went on to say, “We will spend 80 percent of our budget on long-form TV such as drama like our forthcoming Thirteen and our range of comedy and entertainment like Josh and People Just DO Nothing and documentaries like BAFTA-winning Life and Death Row, but we will now spend 20 percent on new form content. Split between our editorial pillars this will include short-form video, picture-led stories, animation, authored pieces, basically any way we can tell a story most effectively for our audience. We will no longer be limited to traditional TV.”

The new BBC Three will “offer opportunities to a wider range of talent because we have space to experiment with a wider range of content ideas in different formats and lengths. We can offer new talent greater exposure because all long form will be on BBC One and BBC Two. And we can for the first time offer a broader range of talent who don’t make traditional TV another place to tell their stories.”