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BBC Three

 Controller: Zai Bennett 

 

Our Priorities

BBC Three is a mixed genre channel for young audiences.

We have three key priorities:

• The channel needs to be disciplined about focusing on the young - its centre of gravity will be 16-34 year-olds: people who are young in spirit and mindset.
• BBC Three is ‘Never Afraid to Try new Stuff’ and that’s why we will continue to innovate with breakthrough comedy, stand-out entertainment, brave documentary and intelligent factual formats. Our content needs to have potential to innovate across platforms.
• BBC Three should provide an environment for the development of new ideas and talent and for existing talent to take risks, becoming a genuine laboratory for BBC One and BBC Two.
   

Key programme areas for BBC THREE 

Comedy 

Pramface was one of BBC Three’s comedy hits – warm and engaging, it centres on the relationship between two ill-matched teenagers about to become parents.

 

BBC Three is the home of new comedy, with the ability to create shows with high impact, like Gavin and Stacey. We are particularly successful when it comes to developing talent such as Simon Brodkin with Lee Nelson and bringing top class writing to the screens with the hit sitcom Him & Her. We regularly pilot comedy and are always on the look-out for fresh, original comedy ideas.

We're also looking for new content through BBC Three’s Comedy portal which uses multiplatform in an innovative way.

 

Entertainment 

Russell Howard’s Good News - BBC Three allows up and coming talent to grow.

 

BBC Three audiences value our entertainment offering and we need a steady supply of fresh series that will cut through on the channel. Russell Howard’s Good News, is a topical satirical show with bite and heart. The stand-up series Live at the Electric, fronted by Russell Kane is a vehicle for new talent. We're looking for more studio-based and talent-led entertainment.

The channel has a reputation for stand-out factual entertainment shows. With award-winning series like Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands we aim to engage our audience and give them more than a simple entertainment experience. We want more factual entertainment formats with real warmth, humour and purpose. 

 

Drama

The breakthrough drama hit Being Human.

 

With the success of Being Human, which returned for a fourth series and has been commissioned for a fifth, and Lip Service which returned for a second series, BBC Three is building a reputation for distinctive and original drama. The channel continues to invest in drama and we’re interested in fresh high-concept ideas as well as stories that reflect the lives and aspirations of our target audience.

 

Documentary and Current Affairs

Part of the Extraordinary Me season, Alex: A Life Fast Forward followed the last few months of a young man living with terminal cancer. Determined to live life to the full, this powerful and intimate documentary had a huge impact on our audience.

 

Whether it is belief, babies or body image, bringing programming together around a single season or theme works well on BBC Three. Bringing Up Britain, which brought together programmes which explored different aspects of parenthood, was a great success as was our Crime Season. We are also seeking ideas for new seasons that will engage with our audience in 2012/2013.

We are also looking for ideas for single documentaries like the hard-hitting The Truth About Child Brides and Britain’s Gay Footballers as well as docu-dramas such as the innovative My Murder. We are interested in shining a light on issues abroad as well as at home and would like more series not just singles. Kids Behind Bars was an important series for BBC Three and Small Teen, Bigger World is a series that developed from the single documentary that was such a success in 2010. 

 

Factual

The multi-award winning Our War was an outstanding and compelling insight into the lives of young soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

 

At the core of BBC Three's schedule are our distinctive factual shows. We are looking for new series like the original, must-watch Our War which used material shot by soldiers to reveal the realities of life on the frontline. We are always seeking inventive formats with ‘takeout’ value such as The World’s Strictest Parents.

We are also seeking new factual entertainment formats with warmth and humour that resonate with our audience such as Don’t Blame The Dog, Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents and Don’t Tell the Bride.

Reality documentaries like Tourettes: I Swear I Can Sing and the Stacey Dooley investigations tell important stories with real impact. We want to cover more topics that engage and inspire our audience.

Specialist factual formats are also important to BBC Three. Britain’s Really Disgusting… and the science series The Secrets of Everything are good examples of series that deliver real insight and reveal shocking truths for our viewers. 

 

Online Innovation 

 

 

BBC Three is a mature digital entertainment brand that fully exploits online to extend the reach, range and impact of what we do.

Integral to our channel strategy is using online to develop the boldest new comedy in the UK. We're particularly focused on using online to showcase and provide a platform for new comic talent – writers as well as performers. We are also keen to pilot brand new approaches to comedy and entertainment formats. This will allow us to nurture new talent and ideas and feed content through to television where appropriate.

We have commissioned a series of six long-form online comedy pilots, but we’re looking to do more. We’re also interested in exciting ideas for short-form comedy too.

 

Want to read more about the specific requirements for BBC Three from the genre commissioning teams?

You can browse through the genre specific requirements for the channel on the BBC Three - What We're Looking for page. 

The Tone of The Channel

Him & Her – Clever scriptwriting and excellent performances allowed this standout comedy to resonate with BBC Three audiences.

 

BBC Three content is modern, distinctive and relevant - though not exclusively - to our core 16-34 year old target audience.  The tone of the channel is warm, personal and surprising with real take-out value.

 

Fresh Documentaries - New Directors for BBC THREE

Fresh continues to blaze a trail of originality across the Channel, and we want YOU to be a part of this success. In 2011 BBC Three commissioned six films from new directors. My Brother The Islamist won the first-time director’s award at the Edinburgh TV Festival and the excellent Stormchaser: The Butterfly and The Tornado was BBC Three’s contribution to the pan-BBC Beyond Disability season.

BBC Three is looking for broad, popular pieces that speak to a large audience: films with humour, warmth and insight, where the audience can engage with the personal stories of stand-out characters.

Three MORE emerging directors will be selected from a pitching session and will each receive a major commission for a one-off 60 minute documentary to be screened on BBC Three in 2012.

Who can enter?

To apply you must be 18 years or over on 30th May 2012 and have not previously directed an hour-long documentary for network television.

Information, rules and how to apply

You can find out more about how to enter, and downloads for the details, terms and conditions application form in the Fresh: New Directors for BBC3 brief.

 
Want to know more about BBC Three?

If you would like to know more about BBC Three programmes, content and schedules, please visit the BBC Three channel website.