BBC Three
Encyclopedia
BBC Three is a television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcasting via digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
, terrestrial, IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
and satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
platforms. The channel's target audience
Target audience
In marketing and advertising, a target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which the marketing message is aimed .....
includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent and new technologies. The channel is on-air from 19:00 to around 04:00 each night, in order to share terrestrial television
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
bandwidth with the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
. Unlike its commercial rivals, 90% of BBC Three's output is from the United Kingdom and other European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
countries. 80% is original, covering all genres, from current affairs, to drama, to comedy to animation. BBC Three has a unique 60 Seconds
60 Seconds
60 Seconds is the news programme running between shows on BBC Three. The weekday presenter is Sam Naz with weekend bulletins presented by Claudia-Liza Armah....
format for its news bulletins. This was adopted so that operation of the channel could be completely automated, without the complication of dealing with variable length live news broadcasts. The current controller of the station is Zai Bennett
Zai Bennett
-Career:Zai Bennett started his career in 1995 in the post room at Carlton Television, then worked as presentation scheduler for the launch of Channel 5 in 1997. He worked for ITV from 1998 in a number of roles including Head of Programme Strategy, ITV Digital Channels and ITV2 Programming and...
and the Head of Scheduling is Dan McGolpin.
History
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 OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. Their plan was for BBC Knowledge
BBC Knowledge
BBC Knowledge was an early BBC digital television channel, available by cable, satellite, or terrestrial digital broadcasting, providing a programme of documentary, cultural and educational television.-Launch:...
to be renamed BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, and indeed this took place in 2002, and for BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
to be renamed BBC Three. However, questions were raised over the propsed format of the new BBC Three, as some thought the new format would be too similar to the BBC's commercial rivals, namely ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
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. The channel was launched by Stuart Murphy, who previously ran BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
, and before that UK Play, the now-discontinued UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
music and comedy channel. At 33, Murphy was the youngest channel controller in the country, a title he 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 Ireland on channel 229.
Programming
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
and E4, 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 One. On average, nine million people watch BBC Three every week, and it has a 2.6% share of he 15-34 year old audience and 1.7% of the whole population, according to BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
. 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 consists of comedy, drama, spin-off series and repeated episodes of series from BBC One and Two, and other programmes that attempt to alert others of their actions through a series of programmes challenging common beliefs.
The following is a list of the ten most watched broadcasts on BBC Three, from BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
data up to 1 May 2011.
| Rank | Show | Episode | Number of Viewers (thousands) | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastenders Live: The Aftermath | N/A | 4,537 | 19 February 2010 |
| 2 | Torchwood Torchwood Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from... |
1.1 Everything Changes | 2,519 | 22 October 2006 |
| 3 | Torchwood Torchwood Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from... |
1.2 Day One | 2,498 | 22 October 2006 |
| 4 | The Weakest Link The Weakest Link The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment... |
EastEnders Special | 2,005 | 19 February 2010 |
| 5 | EastEnders EastEnders EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End... |
07/07/2009 | 1,907 | 7 July 2009 |
| 6 | Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also... |
2.1 | 1,894 | 16 March 2008 |
| 7 | Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also... |
2.2 | 1,869 | 16 March 2008 |
| 8 | EastEnders EastEnders EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End... |
01/06/2010 | 1,801 | 1 June 2010 |
| 9 | Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also... |
2.4 | 1,799 | 30 March 2008 |
| 10 | EastEnders EastEnders EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End... |
31/03/2009 | 1,795 | 31 March 2009 |
An example of BBC Three's comedy output includes the award-winning comedy, Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
, which in October 2004 broke its previous viewing record when 1.8 million viewers tuned in for a new series. Little Britain was later broadcast on the BBC's terrestrial analogue channels BBC One and BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. The channels longest running comedy programme is Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps was a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and initially revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings, played by Ralf Little , Sheridan Smith , Will Mellor , Natalie Casey and...
. 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
Russell Howard's Good News
Russell Howard's Good News is a British comedy and topical news show broadcast on BBC Three and, since the show's fourth series, BBC HD. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, he offers his commentary on the news of the week using mostly standup, but including sketches and guest appearances from people...
and Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
Lee Nelson's Well Good Show is a British comedy sketch show, written and presented by Simon Brodkin, and produced by Avalon Television for BBC Three. It features Brodkin hosting a studio based show as his comedy character Lee Nelson, a happy-go-lucky chav, and also features television sketches of...
.
The channel airs various dramas, one of it's most popular is Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
, which first aired in May, 2007 and was written by and starring Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones is a Welsh TV actress and writer. She starred in and co-wrote the multi-award winning TV comedy Gavin & Stacey and has appeared in many other successful comedies over recent years...
and James Corden
James Corden
James Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
alongside Mathew Horne
Mathew Horne
Mathew Frazer Horne is an English actor, stand-up comedian, television presenter and narrator best known for appearing on several BBC sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably Gavin & Stacey portraying Gavin Shipman, The Catherine Tate Show, Teachers and Horne and Corden.-Early life:Horne was born...
, Joanna Page
Joanna Page
Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Stacey in the television series, Gavin and Stacey.-Early and personal life:...
, Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...
and Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
. The drama 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
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
, a drama in which a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
, a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
and a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
share a flat, which has become a success and heralded several new series. American programming also features, with American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
and Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
being the notable examples.
Numerous popular series are either repeated on the channel or have spin-offs created from them. In early 2003, viewers could watch episodes of popular BBC soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
on BBC Three before they were broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. This programming decision coincided with the relaunch of the channel and helped it break the one million viewers milestone for the first time. An episode of EastEnders Revealed, which was commissioned for BBC Three and looking behind the scenes of the programme, attracted 611,000 viewers. In 2005, BBC Three commisioned the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly...
, which was shown immediately after episodes of the new series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
had been screened on BBC One. This was followed up in July 2005, when it began to screen repeats of both programmes. In October 2005, it was announced that BBC Three had commissioned a spin-off drama series from Doctor Who, Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, designed as a post-watershed
Watershed (television)
In television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama for a more adult audience. Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
launched with an impressive 2.4 million viewers in October 2006.Torchwood is the first science fiction programme ever to have been commissioned by the channel, and it's popularity led to it being broadcast on BBC Two for the second series, and on BBC One for subsequent series. In 2006, BBC Three aired the first run of a back-up show for BBC Two's The Apprentice
The Apprentice (UK)
The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as an apprentice to the British business magnate Lord Sugar in series one to six...
. You're Fired! ran until sport and high ratings moved it to BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. In 2010, BBC Three began airing episodes of the fifth series of BBC drama series Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
after they had aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
as part of its 'catch-up' programming.
BBC Three also airs documentaries aimed at challenging beliefs of young people. These include pan-psychology based programmes which bring topics such as addictions and childcare into an entertainment and educational context; notable programmes include Freaky Eaters
Freaky Eaters
Freaky Eaters is an observational British documentary series produced by independent television production company betty for BBC Three. Series 1 was narrated by the actress Jill Halfpenny and series 2 by Sharon Horgan...
, Spendaholics, The House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways is a BBC Three reality TV show hosted by Dr Tanya Byron and Claudia Winkleman and produced by .The show brings three families experiencing problems into a large, purpose-built house where they are monitored and helped for a week...
and Sex...with Mum & Dad. The channel has also taken on the beauty market through programmes aimed at challenging beliefs into what beauty is: this is most vocalised through one of the channel's top shows, Snog Marry Avoid?
Snog Marry Avoid?
Snog Marry Avoid? is a British reality TV show on BBC Three hosted by Jenny Frost and produced by Endemol. It focuses mainly on transforming 'fakery obsessed' or 'slap addicts' in Britain into natural beauties by stripping them of their skimpy clothes and layers of make-up and giving them a...
.
The channel features hourly news updates called 60 Seconds
60 Seconds
60 Seconds is the news programme running between shows on BBC Three. The weekday presenter is Sam Naz with weekend bulletins presented by Claudia-Liza Armah....
, presented by Sam Naz during the week, which include the top news, sport and entertainment stories. They are presented in a relaxed style in keeping with the rest of the channel. As part of the BBC's discussions with the government regarding the founding of the channel, a longer news programme had been promised to provide a daily section of news and current affairs. The News Show, as it came to be called upon launch was later rebranded The 7 O'Clock News
The 7 O'Clock News
The 7 O'Clock News was the main news programme, broadcast each weekday at 7:00pm, on British digital television channel BBC Three between 9 February 2003 to 2 December 2005...
. However, the BBC discontinued the bulletin in 2005, claiming that the programme's audience was minuscule and the output was provided elsewhere on the BBC.
The channel also shows some sport, primarily Match of the Day Live
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
, broadcasting international football matches featuring Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
, often when an England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
match is being shown on BBC One. The channel also shows some matches of England's Women's team
England women's national football team
The England women's national football team represents England in international women's football. The side has been quite successful of late, qualifying for three World Cups, 1995, 2007 and 2011...
. The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations was shown on the channel from 20 January – 10 February 2008.
Presentation
The channel's original idents were conceived by Stefan Marjoram at Aardman AnimationsAardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
and were used from launch until February 2008. Stuart Murphy was touring Aardman Animations looking for new programming ideas for BBC Three when he spotted the cone shaped creatures, he then took the idea back to the Lambie-Nairn
Lambie-Nairn
Lambie-Nairn is an international branding agency within the WPP Group, headquartered in London with offices in Munich, Madrid, Abu Dhabi and Prague...
agency, responsible for the BBC Three identity package. A feature of this identity is also the music "Three Is The Magic Number", based (only the lyrics are copied) upon Schoolhouse Rock!
Schoolhouse Rock!
Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming on the U.S. television network ABC. The topics covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics...
.
BBC Online provided a number of downloads and activities based on the channel's identity, these included "BlobMate", screensavers, wallpapers and also games such as BlobLander and BlobBert. The idea used by both Lambie-Nairn, who had developed the branding for CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
and CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
, and Aardman, was to create the BBC Three blobs as a relation to the green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
blobs of the children's channels. Up until they rebranded the channel, it had two continuity announcers, Kieron Elliott and Lola Buckley. Both announcers have distinct accents: Scottish and a Yorkshire accent
Yorkshire dialect and accent
The Yorkshire dialect refers to the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire. Those varieties are often referred to as Broad Yorkshire or Tyke. The dialect has roots in older languages such as Old English and Old Norse; it should not be confused with modern slang...
respectively, and allowed the channel to seem more in tune with viewers. Currently the channel's announcers are Gavin Inskip and Jayne Sharp with out-of-vision continuity presented live during peak time.
On 22 January 2008 a new channel identity was unveiled. Rebranding was carried out by Red Bee Media
Red Bee Media
Red Bee Media Limited is a media management company.Headquartered in west London, United Kingdom at the Broadcast Centre, with international offices in Scotland, Australia, France, Germany and Spain, Red Bee Media has 1500 employees worldwide including homeworkers and revenues of £153m in...
, along with agencies MPG and Agency Republic
Agency Republic
Agency Republic is an interactive communications agency. Based in Battersea, London they were Marketing Magazine's Digital Agency of the Year in 2008, 2005, 2004 and 2002, and Campaign Magazine's Digital Agency of the Year for 2006...
with music and sound design by creative audio company Koink.
Awards
The channel has had critical and popular successes, winning more awards in its six year history than its commercial rivals (Sky OneSky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
, Living, E4, ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
, Five and Comedy Central) have won in their combined 25-year history. In total BBC Three has won 7 BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
awards, 5 British Comedy Awards, 15 Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Awards and 5 Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
Awards since the channel was launched in February 2003. Most recently, it won Broadcast Magazines Digital Channel of the Year Award for Best General Entertainment Channel, and MGEITF Non Terrestrial Channel of the Year.
All three of BBC Three's dramas produced in 2004 (Outlaws, Bodies
Bodies (TV series)
Bodies is a BAFTA-nominated British television medical drama produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. Created by Jed Mercurio, the series began in 2004 and is based on his book Bodies. The first series debuted on BBC Three as the channel at this time was trying to break out into hour-long...
and Conviction
Conviction (2004 TV series)
Conviction is a British television crime drama that premiered on BBC Three on 7 November 2004. The six part series was written by Bill Gallagher and stars William Ash, David Warner, Ian Puleston-Davies, Reece Dinsdale, Nicholas Gleaves, Laura Fraser and Jason Watkins...
) received BAFTA nominations, as did classical music show Flashmob The Opera
In 2008, BBC Three's Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
won the BAFTA audience award and the best comedy performance award was awarded to James Corden for his part.
Criticism
The channel has also come in for criticism from several corners, the most prominent of which are some of the BBC's long-standing presenters. These include John HumphrysJohn Humphrys
Desmond John Humphrys , is a Welsh-born British author, journalist and presenter of radio and television, who has won many national broadcasting awards...
, who argued that BBC Three and BBC Four should be shut down in the face of budget cuts to BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
, which he presents, John Sweeney
John Sweeney (journalist)
John Sweeney is an award-winning journalist and author, currently working as an investigative journalist for the BBC's Panorama series.- Investigative journalism :...
of Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
, and Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
are among other journalists who have also criticised the channel and its content.
In July 2010 a UK music magazine printed a letter from the pressure group Friends of Radio 3 that criticised BBC Three for having 'comedies, game shows, films and documentaries, but no arts programming at all'. In a later issue another correspondent endorsed this assessment on the basis of a search through issues of the Radio Times, and cast doubt on the BBC's claim (in the document Performance Against Public Commitments 2009/10) that the channel broadcast '54 hours of new music and arts programming' in that year. Two months later the same correspondent wrote in to inform readers that the BBC had refused his 'Freedom of Information' request concerning the titles of the programmes used in calculating the '54 hours' total.