The BBC Trust has approved plans to axe BBC Three as a television channel and move it wholly online as the Corporation looks to make £100 million worth of cuts a year.
The move is set to save the BBC £30 million annually, with half of the channel’s budget expected to be invested into BBC One drama programmes.
In a statement issued on Tuesday (30 June), the Trust said that it had identified “clear long-term potential” in a new online service that would save a significant amount of money a year and that it thinks will be more distinctive than the existing BBC Three channel, whose audience is currently falling.
According to the assessment, those aged 16 to 34 are already far more likely than any other group to use online video services and the BBC is “right to anticipate the need to serve this audience in new ways.”
However, there remain concerns that the BBC will lose younger and other under-served television viewers who do not watch other BBC TV services or do not have reliable broadband, as well as the ability to try out new ideas and develop new talent.
To manage this, the Trust has said that there must be “a more carefully managed transition from broadcast TV to an online service” to raise awareness of the change. This may include making more programming on BBC One and Two that appeal to a younger audience – including the use of those channels to continue broadcasting long-form BBC Three programmes.
A BBC executive said that the decision to move the BBC’s flagship youth and comedy channel online was in line with delivering the Corporation’s vision for a new BBC Three.
“With a frozen licence fee and the BBC’s income cut by 26 per cent we have had to make some very difficult choices, however our plans will allow us to innovate with new ideas and new forms of content for younger audiences,” the executive said in a statement.
“We’ll now consider the areas the Trust have asked us to address and respond in due course.”
