BBC Three to be axed and move online only.

evilivor

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26447089

BBC Three is to be axed from television schedules and move online, as part of the BBC's cost-cutting plans.

It means shows such as Don't Tell The Bride and Pramface will only be available through the iPlayer, rather than Freeview, satellite or cable.

The BBC will make an official announcement on Thursday, media correspondent David Sillito said.

Before moving BBC Three online, however, the director general must get approval from the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, which represents the interests of licence fee payers.

Skid X

If it means BBC Four is saved I'm happy enough.

squonk

I'd do the opposite. Move BBC4 online and keep 3 on sattelite. 3 is more entertaining and I'd happilly watch the excellent 4 music shows online.

r3nu4l

Skid X wrote: »

If it means BBC Four is saved I'm happy enough.

Amen to that. BBC 4 is excellent and I'm happy to see that saved. Then again I'm biased, my preference is for cultural programming in the arts and sciences rather than the dross served up by BBC3.

mike65

I don;t think this actually stands a chance of passing the trust vote - if there is a vote.

The joke as I pointed out on the broadcasting forum is that BBC1 spend £11m per season for the rights to the Voice, plus a few million to actually make the programme.

brian_t

I think that BBC4 has more programming best suited to watching in HD on television.

Not everyone has a good internet connection.

Mr Pseudonym

I love BBC4, but there's no doubt that it is not as impressive as it was five years ago.

Regarding the BBC 3 decision: I imagine that, as they are aiming to cut £100m from BBC budget, the cleanest thing to do is to axe the ~£90m BBC3, rather than the ~£50m BBC4, especially considering there is little difference in their audience share. Having said that, though, BBC4 could have been incorporated into BBC2, whereas the moving online of the BBC3 "brand" is likely to much diminish it because, presumably, the bulk of their budget was spent on programming rather than transmission, etc.

irishfeen

Thank Christ BBC4 has been saved - best channel in UK/Ireland bar none, some great stuff on there.

mike65

This will no doubt be discussed on the Media Show which starts/ed at 4.30

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/bbc_radio_four?rpSt=bbc+radio+4&rpSrp=3.0

r3nu4l

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

I love BBC4, but there's no doubt that it is not as impressive as it was five years ago.

Regarding the BBC 3 decision: I imagine that, as they are aiming to cut £100m from BBC budget, the cleanest thing to do is to axe the ~£90m BBC3, rather than the ~£50m BBC4, especially considering there is little difference in their audience share. Having said that, though, BBC4 could have been incorporated into BBC2, whereas the moving online of the BBC3 "brand" is likely to much diminish it because, presumably, the bulk of their budget was spent on programming rather than transmission, etc.

It's also likely that BBC 4 was saved because it is more in line with the remit of the BBC for education and cultural preservation. BBC3 provides little other than light entertainment and pretty rubbish lowest common denominator entertainment at that (coming from someone who loves Family Guy and American Dad ). The best of their shows could perhaps be incorporated into BBC1 but not much of it at that!

Just looking at the schedules for tonight brings it into perspective:

BBC3
Total Wipeout
Don't Tell the Bride
Festivals, Sex and Suspicious Parents
Ja'mie: Private School Girl
Bad Education
Family Guy
Family Guy
American Dad!
Festivals, Sex and Suspicious Parents
Ja'mie: Private School Girl
Pramface
Hair
Great Movie Mistakes
V: Revenge of the Fifth,
Pramface




BBC 4
World News Today
Great British Railway Journeys
Bombay Railway
Pressures
Dancing in the Blitz: How World War 2 Made British Ballet
Great Barrier Reef
Nature's Miracle
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Lost Kingdoms of South America
Bombay Railway
Pressures
The Golden Age of Canals
Dancing in the Blitz: How World War 2 Made British Ballet

Far easier for BBC to justify cutting BBC3 based on remit alone, rather than have to justify why 'Don't tell the Bride' is more important than 'Great British Railway Journeys'.

eireannBEAR

As long as the likes of E4 takes up American Dad and Family guy im fine with this,This is a massive loss for freesat. I enjoy BBC4 but for me it only airs one show per week worth watching.

BBC4 Should be aired from 7 to 11 with BBC3 on afterwards on the same EPG.

phasers

that's a shame, BBC Three has had some great shows over the years like the Mighty Boosh and bad education. There's been a lot of dross but those are gems that I don't think any other BBC channel would commission.

I'll miss my nightly dose of Family Guy and American Dad too.

FloatingVoter

BBC4 was the channel that the original BBC charter would recognise. Programming that might leave you a little smarter an hour after watching without being bored or assaulted by the teacher in the meantime.
Dumping it would be surrender to bad US reruns (that can be downloaded easily if you really care) and reality TV that ...eh...didn't make the cutting edge of X Factor. Which describes BBC3. Good choice.

fryup

bbc3 = sky 1

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

mike65

BBC3 = E4/ITV2 plus a bit of SKY ONE.

eireannBEAR

mike65 wrote: »

BBC3 = E4/ITV2 plus a bit of SKY ONE.

I will agree with that, for me even though its only o from 7 in the evening its by far and away the best entertainment network.

mikeym

Why dont the BBC put ads on BBC3 and 4 between programs.

Will Irish viewers be able to watch BBC3 online?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

GarIT

I disagree with a lot of the posts here, just because you don't have an interest in something and because it is not informative or educational does not mean something is not good television.

mikeym wrote: »

Will Irish viewers be able to watch BBC3 online?

Able: Technically yes by making it appear that you live in the UK. Allowed: No.

brian_t wrote: »

Not everyone has a good internet connection.

BBC's only concern is the UK who have much less people without a good internet connection.

Wendolene

fryup wrote: »

bbc3 = sky 1

That's harsh on BBC3.

Hootanany

Will BBC4 become BBC3 then?

Sound of Silence

mikeym wrote: »

Why dont the BBC put ads on BBC3 and 4 between programs.

Will Irish viewers be able to watch BBC3 online?

There are no ads because the BBC is funded entirely by TV license fees.

You can always use a proxy like "Hola! Better Internet" to get access to BBC shows on the web if you're not living in the UK.

Mr Pseudonym

Hootanany wrote: »

Will BBC4 become BBC3 then?

The BBC3 "brand" is being retained. As drama has been pretty much stripped from BBC4, it could be renamed something like BBC Factual.

Wendolene

Hootanany wrote: »

Will BBC4 become BBC3 then?

If you mean in terms of naming convention, then no - BBC3 is to become an online-only channel. If you mean in terms of content, then <shudder> I hope not.

seligehgit

Really hope both BBC 3 and BBC 4 are retained,two excellent channels catering to diverse tastes.

flazio

What will happen to CBBC I wonder? Will it be allowed to continue broadcasting past 7pm?

Mr Pseudonym

Here's a question: if you were BBC Four controller, and you had unlimited resources, what types of programming would you commission?!

mike65

flazio wrote: »

What will happen to CBBC I wonder? Will it be allowed to continue broadcasting past 7pm?

It'll be BBC1+1 from 7 pm almost certainly.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

mike65

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

Here's a question: if you were BBC Four controller, and you had unlimited resources, what types of programming would you commission?!

20 part series on OO gauge railways, the complete history of Widget production, the story of soundwave synthesis. That sort of thing