BBC Three

BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target audience. It covers all genres including particularly new comedies, drama, LGBTQ+ programmes, music, fashion, documentaries, brief news, adult animation, and drama series. BBC iPlayer, the BBC's video-on-demand service, launched in December 2007 and included BBC Three alongside the BBC's other channels at launch. The linear channel closed down on 15 February 2016 and relaunched on 1 February 2022, with programming appearing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the interim period. The channel broadcasts daily from 7:00 pm to 4:00 am, timesharing with CBBC (which starts at 7:00 am).

BBC Three is the BBC's youth-orientated television channel, its remit to provide "innovative programming" to a target audience of viewers between 16 and 34 years old, leveraging technology as well as new talent. Unlike its commercial rivals, 90% of BBC Three's output originated from the United Kingdom. Notable exceptions were Family Guy and American Dad (both of them originating in the United States). It and sister channel BBC Four also carry occasional BBC Sport programming as an overflow for the BBC's other channels.

Following budget cuts at the BBC, the first iteration of the linear channel closed in February 2016, despite public opposition, with the channel continuing as on-demand content only within BBC iPlayer. It returned to broadcast television in the form of a late-night strand on BBC One on Monday to Wednesday nights since 4 March 2019. On 2 March 2021, the BBC confirmed that it planned to relaunch BBC Three's linear television channel in 2022 subject to regulatory approval, which was approved in November that year.