/ / Independent production companies confirm bid to buy BBC Three

Independent production companies confirm bid to buy BBC Three

Edit
Independent TV production companies Hat Trick and Avalon have issued a statement this morning following press reports linking them to a bid to buy BBC Three.

Confirming their plans, the statement reads:
"Under the new ownership, BBC Three would continue to broadcast on all digital platforms, all current contracts would be honoured and the channel's programme budget would be increased from £81m to £100m a year. Under the BBC's plans to take the channel online, that budget is to be cut to £30m a year. 
"All original commissions would be made by UK companies and the channel would continue to be aimed at a young and ethnically diverse audience."

The BBC plans to axe BBC Three as a regular TV channel later this year.

Hat Trick is best known for programmes including Have I Got News for You and BBC Three's The Revolution will be Televised. Avalon is known for Russell Howard's Good News, which recently moved from BBC Three to Two, and previously brought us ITV's TV Burp.

BBC management are understood to have rejected the bid, with the production companies having now approached the BBC Trust about the matter.

Update 11:30: The BBC executive have gone on the record that "BBC Three is not for sale" - because "it's not closing, it's moving online".
BBC Three changes



BBC Trust launches BBC Three consultation
 
BBC One+1 is not replacing BBC Three's bandwidth and not everyone with Freeview will get it when it launches




Share on Google Plus

2 comments:

  1. What i don't understand is the BBC already have a commercial arm and commercial digital channels from UKTV. Surely it makes sense for the BBC to commercialise the channel, without the BBC name, as a channel showcasing a mix of popular TV shows such as Good News, Family Guy mixed with Public Service programmes.

    ReplyDelete

  2. If they managed to buy BBC Three, where would there funding come from? Advertising? In that case, why dont Avalon and Hat Trick launch a channel like that anyway? Without the BBC name. How about "Three TV"?

    ReplyDelete

IMPORTANT: This post is open for comments for a limited period (usually 14 days) following its upload date. You can comment with a Google Account (e.g. for G+, Gmail, YouTube, Google Play)
Comment not appearing? Comments may be subject to moderation and as such may not immediately appear on the site - comments will wait in the moderation queue until they are processed. Check back later. (Comments submitted anonymously may fail the spam filters.)

Please note: Some types of comments may be removed at the discretion of a516digital. With freedom of speech comes responsibility: Keep it clean, civil and on-topic! See the "About this website" section (link at the foot of the page) for full terms and conditions about what is and what isn't acceptable on this site.

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )