Online channel BBC Three is to get a branded block on BBC One. It will run for three nights a week at 10.35pm following a shortened BBC News at Ten.
The first set of titles will be the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award-winning Fleabag (pictured), followed by new dating format Eating With My Ex and Stacey Dooley fronted make-up competition Glow-Up playing across Monday-Wednesday respectively.
BBC Three went online-only in February 2016 in a move designed to save the corporation £30 million a year. At the time it was announced that all shows from the youth-skewing channel would also receive a linear channel transmission. However, this is the first time the shows have been given such a prominence. It has been sparked by growing critical acclaim for BBC Three content and growing audiences.
There have been Bafta and RTS awards for Fleabag, Murdered for Being Different, This Country and People Just Do Nothing, amongst others, while requests for BBC Three programming on iPlayer are up 58% compared to the same period last year, with 4.2m requests per week in 2018 and the iPlayer audience for BBC Three content on average 47% under 35.
The BBC says the change of timings for its flagship news bulletin more closely mirrors what the BBC has historically done and what the BBC already does on a Friday.
