BBC3 Should Become Online Only - Trust Report

BBC Three should become an online only channel, but a BBC One +1 channel should not be launched, a report by the BBC Trust has concluded.

Taking the youth-focused channel online would save £30m a year, the Trust found, and would create a positive impact for rival TV channels.

The online switch is conditional on the BBC making clear commitments to programmes on BBC One and Two that appeal to a younger audience.

Nearly 300,000 people have signed a petition to keep BBC Three on air - in the past it has launched series including Gavin and Stacey and Little Britain.

And 750 people working in the creative industries recently wrote an open letter to save the channel.

Signatories including Jack Whitehall, Steve Coogan and Daniel Radcliffe wrote: "Either the BBC can continue to cater for an increasingly elderly audience, or it can take the lead and safeguard its position as a beloved and relevant public broadcaster by investing in the talent and the audiences who are the building blocks of the future."

Rona Fairhead, BBC Trust Chairman, said: "We know young audiences are already moving towards the online future, but we do recognise that in the short term some of them will feel the impact of the BBC Three proposals."

The report says that the mooted BBC One +1 channel "fails the public value test and should be rejected".

The Trust said it would increase the viewing share of the BBC at the expense of commercial channels, "reducing the profitability, in particular, of ITV and Channel 5."

The Trust also said that the BBC iPlayer - the BBC's on demand online streaming service - should be developed beyond its original remit, to include programmes made by third parties.

This is on the condition that the BBC outlines the "clear, objective criteria it will use for selecting third party partners and explain how it will guard against the risk of third party partners being unfairly excluded."

Fairhead also said: "It is clear that the long-term future of broadcasting is online and the BBC needs to find new and exciting ways to help audiences make that transition, while bearing down on costs overall."

According to Ofcom, seven in 10 people aged between 16 and 24 have watched programmes on a broadcaster's website. Half of all online users have watched TV programmes online.

The BBC will offer its response to the report by 28 July, then a consultation will run until autumn.