television channel which broadcast from 9 february 2003 to 16 february 2016 . for the online television channel see bbc three online . for other uses see bbc three disambiguation . bbc 3 redirects here . for the tv series with this name see bbc 3 tv series . bbc three launched 9 february 2003 2003 02 09 closed 16 february 2016 2016 02 16 owned by bbc picture format 576i 16 9 sdtv 1080i hdtv audience share 1.16 % september 2015 2015 09 barb country united kingdom replaced bbc choice replaced by bbc three online website www.bbc.co.uk bbcthree bbc three was a british television channel operated by the bbc . launched on 9 february 2003 as a replacement for bbc choice the service s remit was to provide innovative programming to a target audience of viewers between 16 and 34 years old leveraging technology as well as new talent . 1 unlike its commercial rivals 90 % of bbc three s output was from the united kingdom . 70 % was original covering all genres including animation comedy current affairs and drama . bbc three had a unique 60 seconds format for its news bulletins adopted so that operation of the channel could be completely automated without the complication of dealing with variable length live news broadcasts . the former controller of the station zai bennett 2 left to join sky atlantic in july 2014 at which point bbc three commissioner sam bickley became acting controller . 3 until february 2016 the network broadcast on freeview digital cable iptv and satellite television platforms and was on air from 7 pm to around 4 am each night to share terrestrial television bandwidth with cbbc . 1 in march 2014 as a result of a planned 100 million budget cut across the bbc it was proposed that bbc three be discontinued as a television service and be converted to an over the top internet television service with a smaller programming budget and a focus on short form productions . 4 5 despite significant public opposition the proposal was provisionally approved by the bbc trust in june 2015 6 with a new consultation open until 30 september of that year . the closure was confirmed in november 2015 with the tv channel ceasing operations on 16 february 2016 and replaced by an online only version . the bbc three tv signal was switched off in the early hours of 31 march 2016 . contents 1 history 1.1 replacement by internet service 2 programming 2.1 comedy and drama 2.2 documentaries 2.3 news and sport 2.4 list of programmes 3 presentation 4 awards 5 criticism 6 references 7 external links history edit in late 2001 the bbc decided to reposition and rebrand their two digital channels so that they could be more closely linked to the well established bbc one and bbc two . their plan was for bbc knowledge to be renamed bbc four which took place in 2002 and for bbc choice to be renamed bbc three . however questions were raised over the proposed format of the new bbc three as some thought the new format would be too similar to the bbc s commercial rivals namely itv2 and e4 and would be unnecessary competition . the channel was eventually given the go ahead eleven months after the original launch date and launched on 9 february 2003 . 7 the channel was launched by stuart murphy who previously ran bbc choice and before that uk play the now discontinued uktv music and comedy channel . at 33 murphy was still the youngest channel controller in the country a title he had held since launching uk play at the age of 26 ; although on 20 october 2005 it was announced that murphy was soon to leave the channel to work in commercial television . on 12 may 2011 bbc three was added to the sky epg in the republic of ireland on channel 229 . 8 it was later moved to channel 210 on 3 july 2012 to free up space for new channels . for the duration of the 2012 summer olympics bbc three increased its broadcasting hours to 24 hours to provide extra coverage of olympic events . 9 broadcast hours were extended again for the 2014 commonwealth games with bbc three broadcasting from 9 00 am to 4 00 am for the duration of the games . 10 on 16 july 2013 the bbc announced that a high definition hd simulcast of bbc three would be launched by early 2014 . 11 the channel launched on 10 december 2013 . 12 replacement by internet service edit in february 2014 bbc director general tony hall announced that cuts of 100 million would have to be made at the corporation ; hall stated that the corporation could be forced to close one of its television services as a cost savings measure . 4 on 5 march 2014 hall announced a proposal to convert bbc three to an online only service with an almost 50 % cut in its programming budget and a larger emphasis on short form content due to the cut in funding . 5 13 these changes formed part of a package of proposals from the bbc including extending cbbc s hours respending 30m on bbc one audiences for drama and launching a one hour timeshift channel of bbc one . 14 there was notable backlash against the measures with celebrities including greg james matt lucas and jack whitehall speaking out . 15 a petition against the move on change.org has gathered over 300 000 signatures . however there was some support from media commentators and those who backed a slimmer bbc . 16 17 when the bbc revealed the full detail in december 2014 it admitted there was widespread opposition from bbc three viewers 13 but said there was support for the wider package of proposals . they believed the public welcomed a bbc one 1 as it admits a vast majority of viewing still takes place on linear channels . 13 the save bbc three campaign pointed out this was a contradiction to what the bbc said about bbc three . 18 the bbc trust began a 28 day public consultation regarding the plans on 20 january 2015 19 and it ended with a protest outside broadcasting house . 20 as part of the consultation a letter of 750 names against the move from the creative industry was sent to the bbc trust and this had the backing of a number of celebrities including daniel radcliffe aidan turner olivia colman and lena headey . 21 the polling company icm concluded a large majority of those that replied to the consultation were against the move 18 with respondents particularly concerned about those who can not stream programming online the effect of the content budget cuts and the bbc s own admission the audience numbers would drop . 18 the save bbc three campaign has argued the transition period is too short and that programmes like family guy hair and don t tell the bride have not performed as well on bbc one and bbc two with the 16 34 year old audience in comparison to bbc three . 22 it did not consider the proposals cost effective because the bbc will need to spend on a new brand and triple advertising budgets to increase awareness of the new service . nonetheless the bbc trust issued its final decision to approve the transition in november 2015 citing the fact that younger audiences have increasingly migrated to online television content as opposed to linear television channels and the bbc s ability to deliver more distinctive content online while bearing down on costs . conditions were imposed on other bbc properties to compliment the changes ; bbc one and two will be required to develop distinctive programmes designed for younger audiences as well as air encores of all full length programmes that originally premiere on the bbc three online service . the trust also approved related proposals to allow first run and third party content on iplayer as well as extend cbbc s broadcast day to 9 00 p.m. the bbc one timeshift service was rejected citing limited public value . 23 24 jimmy mulville and jon thoday of independent production companies hat trick productions and avalon reportedly considered legal action against the trust if it went ahead with the closure of the channel . 25 they had previously offered to buy the channel to keep it on television but the bbc said the channel was not up for sale . 26 bbc three signed off during the early morning of 16 february 2016 . the final programme was an episode of gavin & stacey introduced by its co star james corden from the los angeles studio of his u.s. late night talk show the late late show . 27 28 the channel thereafter carried promotional information regarding the bbc three internet service until it officially went dark . 29 30 31 programming edit the remit of bbc three is to bring younger audiences to high quality public service broadcasting through a mixed genre schedule of innovative uk content featuring new uk talent . the channel should use the full range of digital platforms to deliver its content and to build an interactive relationship with its audience . the channel s target audience is 16 34 year olds . bbc three remit 1 the channel s target audience was 16 34 year olds 32 and it faced heavy competition from rivals including itv2 and e4 33 for an audience that the bbc has traditionally had difficulty in attracting . in 2008 it reached 26.3 % of 16 34 year olds in digital homes the channel s highest ever such reach and above that of e4 itv2 dave and sky 1 . 34 on average nine million people watched bbc three every week 35 and it had a 2.6 % share of the 15 34 year old audience and 1.4 % of the whole population according to the broadcasters audience research board barb . these ratings by barb the official ratings agency average out bbc three s viewing figures over a 24 hour period even though the channel only broadcasts in the evening giving a distorted sense of the channel s viewership . despite several official complaints from the bbc barb continues to publish figures which the bbc argues are unrepresentative . bbc three s programming consisted of comedy drama spin off series and repeated episodes of series from bbc one and bbc two and other programmes that attempted to alert others of their actions through a series of programmes challenging common beliefs . an example of bbc three s comedy output includes the award winning comedy little britain which in october 2004 broke its previous viewing record when 1.8 million viewers tuned in for a new series . 36 little britain was later broadcast on the bbc s terrestrial analogue channels bbc one and bbc two . the channels longest running comedy programme is two pints of lager and a packet of crisps . some current programmes feature stand up comedians performing their own take on a subject usually the news examples of which include russell howard s good news now being broadcast on bbc two due to success and partly to bbc three s move to online only and lee nelson s well good show . comedy and drama edit the channel aired various comedies and dramas ; one of its most popular sitcoms was gavin & stacey which first aired in may 2007 and was written by and starring james corden and ruth jones alongside mathew horne joanna page alison steadman and rob brydon . the sitcom was an instant hit with subsequent series being moved to other bbc channels and the show being granted a christmas special . another example is being human a drama in which