BBC3 Could Cost Commercial Broadcasters £25m

The UK’s commercial broadcasters have told the Government that they could lose up to £25m a year in revenue if BBC3 goes ahead in its current form.

Culture secretary Tessa Jowell asked the coalition of broadcasters to estimate their annual loss if the BBC’s digital channel, aimed at 16-34 year olds, is approved. The ITC and broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and BSkyB independently came up with the sum of £25m and said that they remained opposed to the channel on the grounds that it is unnecessary in a market already well served by commercial TV (see Commercial Broadcasters Unite To Halt BBC3).

The Government rejected the BBC’s plans for the new channel last September claiming that it was “not truly distinctive in an already crowded market” (see Government Says No To BBC3). However, the BBC, which intends to spend over £90m of licence-fee payers money on the channel, submitted a reworked proposal, including a fifteen-minute news bulletin at peak-time and the promise of more current affairs programmes.

Tessa Jowell is expected to decide on the revised proposal within the next few weeks and the coalition of commercial broadcasters led by Channel 4 is urging that at the very least, some of BBC3’s budget be given to the recently launched BBC4 (see BBC4 “Happy” With 11,000 Digital Debut).

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

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