BBC Three
Sign in to saveAlso known as BBC 3, BBC3
Terrestrial television channel operated by the BBC until 2016
Key facts
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Broadcast area
- United Kingdom Isle of Man Channel Islands
- Network
- BBC Television , BBC One (2019–2022)
- Headquarters
- London, England
- Language
- English
- Picture format
- 1080i / 1080p HDTV (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed)
- Owner
- BBC
- Sister channels
- BBC One , BBC Two , BBC Four , BBC News , BBC Parliament , CBBC , CBeebies , BBC Scotland , BBC Alba
- Launched
- 9 February 2003 ( 2003-02-09 ) (original), 1 February 2022 ; 4 years ago ( 2022-02-01 ) (relaunch)
- Replaced
- BBC Choice (2003)
- Closed
- 16 February 2016 ( 2016-02-16 ) (original)
- Website
- bbc .co .uk /bbcthree
- Freeview
- Channel 23 (SD), Channel 107 (HD; England & NI only), Channel 7 (Original)
- Bbc iplayer
- Watch live (UK only)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree
Show 2 more facts
- inception
- 2003-02-09
- Commons category
- BBC Three
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Article
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target audience. It covers all genres including particularly new comedies, drama, LGBTQ+ programmes, music, fashion, documentaries, brief news, adult animation, and drama series. BBC iPlayer, the BBC's video-on-demand service, launched in December 2007 and included BBC Three alongside the BBC's other channels at launch. The linear channel closed down on 15 February 2016 and relaunched on 1 February 2022, with programming appearing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the interim period. The channel broadcasts daily from 7:00 pm to 4:00 am, timesharing with CBBC (which starts at 7:00 am).
BBC Three is the BBC's youth-orientated television channel, its remit to provide "innovative programming" to a target audience of viewers between 16 and 34 years old, leveraging technology as well as new talent. Unlike its commercial rivals, 90% of BBC Three's output originated from the United Kingdom. Notable exceptions were Family Guy and American Dad (both of them originating in the United States). It and sister channel BBC Four also carry occasional BBC Sport programming as an overflow for the BBC's other channels.