BBC Three's TV return facing Ofcom delay

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 10h

Ofcom says that a full competition impact assessment will be required over the proposals to relaunch BBC Three as a linear TV channel.

Ofcom has announced a new consultation into the BBC's proposals to relaunch BBC Three as a linear TV channel.

The youth-targeted service closed down in February 2016 and moved to an online-only proposition as part of iPlayer, but huge success with shows such as Normal People and RuPaul's Drag Race UK has seen the corporation reverse tack and decide to restore it as a TV channel.

Under those plans, the channel will be back on air by January 2022 with a boosted annual budget of £72.5 million but first the move needs the blessing of TV regulator Ofcom.

Ofcom launched a provisional consultation earlier this year and based on the initial feedback, the regulator has now decided to undertake a full-scale competition impact assessment, which could take up to six months.

Among those raising concerns about the relaunch was Sky, who argued that the new BBC Three channel would both take away audiences from commercial channels and potentially push other channels down the EPG.

Should Ofcom take the full six months to make a final determination about whether the plan can go ahead, then the relaunch faces being pushed back from January to later in 2022.