BBC Three will return as a TV channel in 2022 - after moving online 6 years ago

BBC Three will return as a TV channel in 2022, after moving online six years ago. The TV channel was moved to an online-only version - available via the iPlayer - in 2016, but is expected to start broadcasting once again in January of next year, subject to approval from media regulator Ofcom. BBC Three to return to TV channel The channel has been responsible for huge successes over the past few years, including Killing Eve, Normal People and Fleabag. The BBC said it had committed to doubling the investment on BBC Three commissions over the next two years following its recent success, with the TV channel to target audiences aged 16 to 34. The channel will broadcast from 7pm to 4am each day, which is the same hours it used to run when it closed in 2016. However, as a result of this, CBBC’s broadcast hours will revert to closing at 7pm. This was the time CBBC used to finish before 2016, but it currently runs until 9pm. ‘BBC Three is a BBC success story’ Charlotte Moore, chief content officer of the BBC, said: “BBC Three is a BBC success story, backing creativity, new talent and brave ideas has resulted in hit after hit, from Fleabag and Man Like Mobeen, Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK and Jesy Nelson’s Odd One Out, to Normal People and This Country. “The BBC needs to back success and make sure its programmes reach as many young people as possible wherever they live in the UK. “So regardless of the debates about the past, we want to give BBC Three its own broadcast channel again. “It has exciting, ground breaking content that deserves the widest possible audience and using iPlayer alongside a broadcast channel will deliver the most value.”