Three is the magic number

Like branch lines, tv channels seem harder to re-open than close. So the nimble BBC plans to re-open BBC Three as that old-fashioned nonsense, a broadcast channel, in January 2022. It will be on-air from 19.00 to 04.00 each day. CBBC will go back to closing at 19.00 instead of 21.00, as was the case before 2016. BBC Three’s remit will therefore be expanded to include a pre-watershed content offer suitable for 13+ audiences. 

There'll be a Public Interest Test (a second referendum ?) with the publication of a consultation document on Friday 5 March.

When the channel closed, the BBC said there was "clear public value in moving BBC Three online, as independent evidence shows younger audiences are watching more online and watching less linear TV". In the last full year of operation, the channel spent £82m on content, and reached 18.4% of the population each week, and 22% of the 16-34 year-olds it was targetting. By March 2017, it's reach online amongst 16-34 year-olds was 8%.  The BBC said the closure saved £30m.