As of 3:55am tomorrow morning BBC Three will no longer be available as a linear TV channel. The long-expected switch-off will happen at the end of today's scheduled programming, culminating in a mid-season repeat of Gavin and Stacey.
As one of the youth-oriented channel's biggest successes it's maybe fitting for the Jones and Corden comedy to be seeing out the last half hour of linear programming before BBC Three switches over to an exclusively online-only service.
Though the fact it's a repeat of a repeat shown earlier that evening is also pretty indicative of what the channel was offering.
"We're reinventing our offer for young people, but I want to be clear that this is just the start," said channel controller, Damian Kavanagh. He was speaking at a recent event to preview the new online version of the channel.
Supply and on-demand
Although it may seem like a retrograde step - shutting down the live broadcast channel - it actually makes more sense for a channel that's supposed to be dedicated to reflecting youth culture, as it embraces the on-demand platform exclusively.
Recent reports have pointed to a steady decline in the amount of content consumed via traditional linear TV channels - and it's continuing to drop too. There are predictions that by next year linear TV could account for as little as a third of our TV viewing.
And those figures are even lower if you're looking at younger demographics where on-demand and mobile content is king.
"We will iterate, refine, adapt and I ask that you guys come on this adventure with us. Some things won't work, but we have the capability to change tack very, very quickly; this is what's most exciting about the new BBC3," explained Kavanagh.
This more adaptive nature could see the 'channel' keep more on trend and up to date with the culture it's supposed to be reflecting.
Interestingly there are already plans afoot should this latest move for BBC Three not work out. BBC is reportedly considering merging BBC Three and Radio 1 under one 'youth division' with one controller running both properties together.
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