BBC Three’s Online-Only Move Delayed Until 2016

LONDON: The plans to transition BBC Three from a linear channel to an online-only service have been delayed, awaiting a final decision from the BBC Trust.

The channel was originally supposed to become an online-only brand in fall 2015, but its boss said the shift would now not occur until after Christmas.

Damian Kavanagh, the controller of BBC Three, told Broadcast: “We won’t be rushed. We will do what’s right for our fans, not to satisfy deadlines…. Once we have the Trust’s final decision, we’ll start doing more online and in social [media], building up to a move online. You simply can’t turn around something as groundbreaking as this overnight.”

The BBC announced in March 2014 its plans to take BBC Three online. After that time, the channel would be available solely on iPlayer and would have a younger skew.