BBC Three to be axed as on-air channel

BBC Three is to be dropped from TV schedules and will move online, as part of the BBC's cost-cutting plans.



It means shows such as Don't Tell The Bride and Pramface will only be available through the iPlayer, rather than Freeview, satellite or cable.

The BBC will make an official announcement on Thursday, media correspondent David Sillito said.

Celebrities are already rallying behind the service. Matt Lucas said the move would be "really bad for new comedy".

The BBC's decision follows a speech given by director general Tony Hall last week, in which he said "tough choices" would have to be made if the corporation was to meet its savings target.

"We are in the final stages of a budget process to find an extra £100m of savings," he said at the Oxford Media Convention. "I will announce the outcome of those decisions in the next month."

It is something of a turnaround for Lord Hall, who said in October: "I wouldn't consider closing a channel".

"The public feel very strongly about all the services the BBC runs," he told the World At One. "We have to find other ways [of saving money]".

Before moving BBC Three online, however, the director general must get approval from the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, which represents the interests of licence fee payers.

BBC One to get £30m from Three closure

BBC One drama is to receive a £30m boost from the closure of BBC Three as a TV channel, director general Tony Hall has announced.

The service, which will be moved to the iPlayer in autumn 2015, will see its overall cost reduced from £85m to £25m.

Lord Hall said moving BBC Three was "the right thing to do" and also "financially necessary".

The proposal will create space for a BBC One +1 service and a one-hour evening extension of CBBC to 2000 GMT.