BBC3 “not for sale”
January 20, 2015
The BBC says BBC3 is “not for sale because”, in response to a rumoured bid to buy the channel.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that leading independent producers Jon Thoday and Jimmy Mulville, heads of production companies Avalon and Hat Trick respectively, were planning to submit a proposal to buy the TV channel, saving it from a move to online-only distribution.
The BBC put out a statement on Twitter: “BBC Three not for sale because it’s not closing – proposal to move it online is part of bold move to reinvent BBC’s offer for young people.”
Thoday and Mulville are said to have had informal talks with senior corporation executives. Their plan would involve BBC3 continuing to broadcast on TV, as well as being available online. All current commissioning contracts would be honoured and the channel’s programme budget would be increased from £81 million (€106m) a year to £100 million.