BBC Trust decision on proposed changes to BBC television and online services

Today we've announced our provisional decision on proposals put to us by the BBC.

They asked us to look at moving BBC Three to become an online only channel, adding a BBC One+1 channel, extending the hours of CBBC and adding new content to iPlayer. They also proposed investing much of the savings into BBC drama programmes.

I know that the change that most people will want to hear about is whether BBC Three will move online. In response to this we have said that we are willing to approve the proposal, but only if the BBC is able to answer the concerns that we have set out.

BBC Three has built a strong reputation for discovering new talent and stands apart from BBC One and Two by showing programmes that specifically appeal to a younger audience. We know it has many passionate viewers and from the start of our consideration we always had audiences at the forefront of our minds. 

Ultimately we want what they want – a strong, sustainable BBC which stays relevant and reflects audience needs, giving them programmes in the way they want to access them. The reality is that for younger audiences this is ceasing to be live programmes on television and the BBC is recognising this.

We recognise how deeply people care about BBC Three and we are grateful to everyone who shared their views in the consultation and we know this decision is not going to be the one that everybody wanted.

The Trust's role is to listen and consider the public's views as well as evidence including the wider market impact and future consumer habits. We must also remain mindful of the cost pressures facing the BBC. All of this information has informed our judgement.

We know in the short term that there will be an impact on some of BBC Three's audience, but we can also see the BBC’s sense in seeking the best way to serve audiences in the future.

The BBC already has a great track record of leading technology change - from introducing colour TV, to the iPlayer - and we believe this audience is the right one to make the switch to online viewing. This change will push the BBC to find new ways to produce and present programmes, enabling it to move with an audience of 16 to 34-year-olds who are already ahead of the curve.

But, we need to make sure the BBC isn't going to lose an important part of its audience. We are setting conditions to help make sure this doesn't happen, and we want the BBC to present us with more detail before we make our final decision on these plans.

We want to see a clear plan for how BBC Three will take viewers with it online so that the audience won't miss out on the shows they love.

We need guarantees that for those who aren't online, or prefer a traditional TV experience, there will be space on BBC One and BBC Two for the type of programmes that appeal to BBC Three’s audience.

Finally, we need to ensure that the BBC continues to take risks to develop fresh talent and work with producers to create distinctive programmes for BBC Three online as well as its other channels.

We have asked the BBC to come back to us on how they will do all this and we will then ask for views in a further, extended round of consultation before reaching our final decision in the autumn.

On the other proposals that the BBC asked us to look at, we decided that a BBC One +1 service provided little benefit, ignored the trend toward online and iPlayer and could negatively impact the market, so we did not approve the proposal.

We are in favour of plans to extend CBBC's hours to allow younger audiences to watch programmes in the evening. We also felt new content for iPlayer, like premieres and live events, will make this much-loved service even better.

Rest assured we are under no illusions about the importance of getting this decision right. These are still provisional conclusions and our final decision could be different if we find that the BBC's responses to our concerns aren’t strong enough.

What happens next?

1. We have asked the BBC to provide plans that address our concerns by 28 July.
2. We will include this information as part of a further, extended consultation.
3. We will publish our final decision in Autumn 2015.

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