BBC Three is set to return to TV screens across the UK after Ofcom approved the channel’s relaunch.
The green light for the relaunch of the channel aimed at younger viewers comes with caveats, as at least three-quarters of its output must be original shows produced for a UK audience.
BBC Three was taken off air in early 2016 and turned into a digital-only channel housed on the corporation’s iPlayer.
It was argued that doing so would allow it to focus on younger viewers, but a U-turn followed after hits such as Normal People and RuPaul's Drag Race UK showed there is a “significant group of younger viewers who maintain a strong linear TV habit”.
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Ofcom said it had “carefully assessed” the plans and decided that the relaunch of BBC Three will help the corporation “to increase its reach among younger underserved viewers – particularly those from lower-income homes, and audiences who live outside London and the South East”.
The regulatory body has put in a requirement that 75% of the broadcast hours be original programmes commissioned by the BBC for UK viewers “to ensure the channel is distinctive”.
BBC Three will also be required to “deliver first-run UK content across a mix of genres, as well as weekday news programmes”.
In its fourth annual report on the BBC, released today (Novermber 25), Ofcom also said that it had carefully considered "the appropriate minimum level of prominence for BBC Three on the licensed electronic programme guides (EPGs)".
The regulator said it had decided the new channel should "have a minimum prominence at slot 24", saying broadcasters will have 18 months to implement this decision.
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