BBC Three gets green light to return as full UK TV channel

(Pocket-lint) - Ofcom has approved BBC plans to bring BBC Three backmost arsenic a full-fledged channel.

The communications regulator has fixed the relaunch the greenish light, arsenic agelong arsenic three-quarters of its contented is archetypal and made successful the UK.

"We cautiously assessed the BBC’s plans, alongside grounds and feedback gathered during our consultation. We concluded that the channel’s relaunch volition assistance the BBC to summation its scope among younger underserved viewers - peculiarly those from lower-income homes, and audiences who unrecorded extracurricular London and the South East," it said successful a statement.

The BBC announced successful March 2021 that it wanted to reverse its determination to marque BBC Three an iPlayer-only service. However, it needed afloat support earlier progressing.

The corp closed the BBC Three terrestrial TV transmission successful 2016, moving contented and commissions to BBC iPlayer chiefly and hosting immoderate of its shows connected BBC One. However, it took into relationship caller probe highlighting a "strong case" for the transmission to travel back.

BBC Three, arsenic before, volition absorption connected younger audiences. The Beeb volition anticipation to bring backmost immoderate viewers who near to question retired contented connected different platforms instead.

"The BBC needs to backmost occurrence and marque definite its programmes scope arsenic galore young radical arsenic imaginable wherever they unrecorded successful the UK," said the BBC's main contented officer, Charlotte Moore earlier this year.

"So careless of the debates astir the past, we privation to springiness BBC Three its ain broadcast transmission again."

The channel, which is location to specified classics arsenic RuPaul's Drag Race UK and wherever the likes of Killing Eve, Fleabag and Gavin & Stacey started out, is to instrumentality successful January 2022. It was primitively chopped arsenic portion of a wealth redeeming drive.

It volition look connected the aforesaid transmission slot arsenic CBBC, with the kids transmission reverting to an extremity clip of 7pm each day. BBC Three volition past aerial from 7pm to 4am.

Writing by Rik Henderson. Originally published connected 2 March 2021.