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BBC director general to axe BBC3

BBC director general to axe BBC3

BBC director general Tony Hall plans to axe BBC3 later this month, just over a decade after the channel launched in 2003.

Birthplace of major BBC hits including Little Britain and Gavin and Stacey, the loss of BBC3 comes as the Corporation looks to save £100 million a year, for which Hall said “tough choices” would have to be made.

Under Hall’s proposal, the youth-orientated channel will become wholly available online via the BBC’s iPlayer, where a large proportion of its programming already premiers.

The proposal also guarantees the safety of BBC4, which has recently faced calls to be axed or be merged with BBC2.

However, Hall’s plans are yet to be approved by the BBC Trust, which rejected proposals to close BBC Radio 6 Music back in 2010.

Comedians Matt Lucas and Jack Whitehall took to Twitter to express their opinions about axing the “home of new comedy and drama,” with Whitehall saying that the channel’s support of new comedy in particular is “vital”.

In line with the cuts, the BBC has also reached a retransmission deal with Sky that will save the corporation £4.5 million a year, alongside Lord Hall proposing that the licence fee should be extended to include people watching content via iPlayer.

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