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BBC3 as an online channel: Innovative or Desperate?

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BBC Three will become the first TV channel in the world to make the switch from a linear broadcast channel to online-first destination. The reinvented BBC Three will offer TV shows to stream and download through new homes The Best Of and BBC Three on iPlayer, and start publishing a range of daily content through its new, mobile-first platform, The Daily Drop.

"The home of 'Gavin & Stacey', 'Being Human' and 'Our War' will continue making original British comedies."

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The home of 'Gavin & Stacey', 'Being Human' and 'Our War' will continue making original British comedies like 'People Just Do Nothing', 'Cuckoo and 'Murder In Successville', contemporary British drama like 'Thirteen', 'Clique' and Doctor Who spin-off 'Class', thought-provoking British documentaries like 'Life And Death Row' and 'Suicide And Me', and distinctive current affairs programming like 'Black Power' and 'Is This Rape? Sex On Trial' - all made exclusively for BBC Three’s 16-34 target audience and with the best new comedians, directors, actors, writers and filmmakers.

This all sounds very exciting, and naturally the Beeb is pulling out all the stops to put a massively positive spin on this radical move. But is this an indication that our national broadcaster is embracing a brave new world, or simply clinging onto its youth audience by its fingertips? To answer this we should consider one key question: would all this be happening if the BBC wasn't under enormous pressure to save huge sums of money (in the case of BBC Three, around £30m)? It seems pretty clear to me that it wouldn't.

"The BBC finds itself in financial dire straits."

We all know the Corporation is solely funded by licence fees - essentially a national tax on TV viewing and radio listening. For that situation to be sustainable requires the good graces of HM Government and the general public - and successive governments of all stripes have been markedly unenthusiastic about this arrangement. Which is why the BBC finds itself in such financial dire straits.

Attempts to cut various services have been something of a mess. First the axe was dangled over BBC4, with its worthy output but low audiences. Until it was pointed out that its programming was exactly the kind of thing the BBC should be providing, and the station was saved. Next the executioner turned his attention 6Music, the 'alternative' radio station. Although its budget was only a couple of million quid, it was thought to be surplus to requirements. Until the intervention of a huge public campaign and the likes of David Bowie rescued the channel.

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"Something had to give, and that was BBC Three."

Something had to give, and that something was BBC Three. The corporation has always struggled to make full contact with the 'yoof' - often coming across as a rather embarrasing uncle dancing to rave tunes at a wedding. It's frequently been argued that the commercial broadcasters cover that audience more effectively anyway. So BBC Three eventually drew the short straw, and today (Tuesday 16th February) it ceased broadcasting.

"To most observers it really smacks of comprimise."

Taking the service online is clearly preferable to disappearing entirely, but no matter how much the Beeb spin this as a brave new journey into the future, to most observers it really smacks of comprimise.

Don't get me wrong, the venture may well be a rip-roaring success - and indeed, may well represent the way forward for all TV stations. However, the BBC's hand has been forced in this. They're saving face rather than forging ahead, and success will be more of a case of fortune rather than design. As with the Independent, which also went online only last week, there'll be an awful lot of fingers crossed as these services try a format with a distinctly unproven record.

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