BBC Choice

**BBC Choice** was a digital free-to-air British TV channel, predating BBC Three. It was launched on digital television on September 23rd 1998.

## History

### Launch

During the time period in which BBC Choice launched, digital receivers were not available to the public, as Sky hadn’t yet gotten the hang of digital tv, and ONdigital was still a few years away. So, instead of launching on television like people were expecting, BBC Choice instead launched over the internet thanks to the BBC’s recently introduced service BBCi. The channel’s first official programming was an episode of *Tomorrow’s World*, which covered what digital TV was and how it worked. As well as this, they also broadcasted some of the very first episodes of *EastEnders*, and *Monty Python’s Flying Circus.*

### Programming

BBC Choice’s programmes consisted of repeats from BBC One and Two’s backlog, as well as some original programming such as *Backstage* and celebrity gossip show *Liquid News.* They also broadcasted some live events such as *Glastonbury*, when BBC One and Two had to either end coverage early, or the event got in the way of the existing schedule.

### Children’s Programming

During weekday afternoons, BBC Choice’s off-air hours would be filled in with a block known as *CBBC Choice*, which would run up until 2002 when CBBC and CBeebies got their own channels. This was soon changed from weekends to daily, from 6am-7pm.

### 2000’s refresh

In 2000, the beeb was lacking in viewers from the 16-34 age group, as BBC One, Two and Knowledge wouldn’t satisfy that demographic. To get around this, the BBC decided to change BBC Choice’s content scope and aim it towards a younger audience. As a result, programmes such as *Glastonbury* and *Backstage* were abandoned, and replaced with programmes such as the as before mentioned *Liquid News,* which would become *60 Seconds* in 2001.

### The End of BBC Choice

In August 2000, the BBC announced that it would replace BBC Choice as soon as possible with BBC Three, which would be a continuation of the "youth" aspect of the new BBC Choice. But the government delayed approving the relaunch, which formed part of wider plans to reshape the BBC's digital provision, plans which also included the proposed BBC Four, two children's channels and five digital radio stations. Whilst BBC Three was delayed, the other proposals gained the approval of Parliament and the new channels went on air in 2002, meaning BBC Four launched prior to BBC Three. From October 2001, BBC Choice began screening a significant amount of new, young-skewing programming, the kind of content that had been earmarked for BBC Three.

The BBC submitted a revised proposal for the new channel raised the target age range to 25–34 and increased the amount of factual and arts programming, with a nightly 15-minute news programme – it was hoped these changes would better illustrate how BBC Three would differ from rivals such as E4, ITV2 and Sky One. This new proposal for BBC Three was given the go-ahead in September 2002, with a set of public-service conditions laid down and a launch date of February 2003 set. The final night of BBC Choice was given over entirely to previews of the new channel.