BBC Three

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**BBC Three** is a British free-to-air digital television channel owned by BBC, post-dating BBC Choice. It runs from 7pm-4am nightly, time sharing with CBBC. It’s programming is targeted to the 16-34 age demographic.

## History

### Launch

BBC Three was launched on February 9th 2003 at 7pm GMT, and was also broadcast on BBC Two, similar to BBC Four’s launch night. The launch show was fronted by Johnny Vaughan. The launch evening also featured guest stars such as Johnny Vegas. The channel was originally controlled by Stuart Murphy, who commissioned BBC Three’s most popular shows such as *Little Britain, Pulling* and *Early Doors* as well as dramas such as *Torchwood.* The channel launched with a critically acclaimed set of idents, dubbed the “Blobs.” The “blobs” idents would feature an orange slug-like creature, fairly reminiscent of the ones CBBC and CBeebies were using at the time, in front of a blue background with a 3D tall standing “Three” and would say a witty line, which would vary from ident to ident.

### First Generation (2003-2005)

BBC Three’s first generation, which ran from 2003 to 2005 was packed full of brand new shows, such as *Monkey Dust, Burn It, Strictly Come Dancing on Ice* as well as *EastEnders* repeats, which (coincidentally) were moved to UKTV’s W channel after the channel closed in 2016.

### Second Generation (2005-2008)

BBC Three’s second generation was similar to the first, with even more new things from the beeb, including a slight rebrand to BBC Three’s logo. Where as the 2003 logo had been painted in white with transparent lettering, the logo was now a cyan blue with white lettering, and received a new channel bug.

### Third Generation (2008-2016)

BBC Three received, arguably, its biggest rebrand to date in 2008. Gone were the orange blobs and the blue backgrounds, and here was a lavishly animated sequence, swathed in a bright pink and purple colour palette. This branding package has received much more acclaim than the previous set. Nicknamed “Threeworld,” these idents would last up until 2013. BBC Three’s programming changed drastically as well. Whilst still airing the programmes that made Three what it was, the beeb also brought in new programmes, such as *Lilly Allen and Friends,* and an all new *60 Seconds.*

BBC Three would receive its penultimate rebrand in October 2013, dubbed “Discovery” and would last until 2016.

### Final Generation (2016)

In 2014, the BBC Trust were facing a breakdown in negotiations with the beeb over their current budgets. With their government funding stopped, the BBC were pondering how they would save more money. Just weeks after, BBC Three was put on the table. The plan was to close BBC Three’s linear feed and move it’s output online. When these plans went public, there was huge backlash against the BBC Trust. The Save BBC Three petition spread nationwide and were backed by celebrities. However, the plan gained approval from the Trust, and, in June 2015, the BBC announced it was indeed moving BBC Three online. The channel, however, remained on air until 16th February 2016, and ceased remaining operations on March 31st 2016.