BBC Hails New Digital Channel A Success With Youth Audience

The BBC is hailing the launch of its new digital entertainment channel, BBC3, a success and is claiming that 2.4 million viewers in its target audience of 25 to 34 year-olds have tuned into the channel in its first month on air.

The channel, which launched earlier this year after a series of delays and setbacks (see BBC3 Launch Attracts An Average Audience Of 154,000), achieved an average nightly share of 2.5% in this age group, placing it ahead of E4, UK Gold, Bravo and the Paramount channels.

Among the programmes highlighted as successes are Burn It, a new drama featuring six friends facing up to turning 30 and factual programmes Body Hits and Liquid Assets. According the BBC, Burn It has averaged 190,000 viewers per episode, while Body Hits and Liquid Assets have both averaged over 200,000 viewers per episode.

The Corporation is also claiming that a total of 4.4 million 25 to 34 year-olds have sampled BBC3 programming on both terrestrial and digital channels at some points over its first month on air.

Commercial broadcasters have voiced their strong opposition to the launch of BBC3, claiming that the channel is unnecessary in a market already well served by commercial TV (see Commercial Broadcasters Unite To Halt BBC3). In an attempt to side-step this problem Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, approved the channel last September with a series of stringent conditions to ensure that it is “genuinely distinctive, genuinely public service and genuinely innovative” (see Government Finally Gives BBC3 The Go Ahead).

Unofficial overnight figures from BARB also reveal that the BBC’s coverage of last Saturday’s FA Cup quarter final between Arsenal and Chelsea was watched by more than a third of the viewing public.

The match, which ended in a 2-2 draw commanded a 36.2% share of viewing. It is understood that this is the largest audience for an FA Cup tie since the 1999 final when Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2-0 at Wembley.

The BBC is also claiming that these figures were the largest in the Saturday late afternoon/early evening slot since 2001 and the England-Germany World Cup qualifier (see Football Nets 14.6m Viewers).

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk

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