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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

Mongrels was one of BBC Three’s comedy hits – an example of true innovation.

 

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’s Well Good Show 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 King Is Dead with Simon Bird is a thoroughly original show with elements of chat show, game show and sitcom. We're looking for more studio-based and talent-led entertainment.

With shows like Undercover Princesses we aim to engage our audience and give them more than a simple entertainment experience. We want more fact ent formats with real warmth and humour. We are also interested in multiplatform entertainment focused on unique online ideas which push the boundaries of the genre.

Drama

The breakthrough drama hit Being Human.

 

With the success of Being Human, which returned for a third series, and Lip Service, BBC Three is building a reputation for distinctive and original drama. BBC Three continues to invest in drama and we’ve just commissioned a supernatural thriller, The Fades, as a result of last year’s pilots. As well as high concept drama we are also continuing to look for fresh ideas that reflect the lives and aspirations of our target audience.

Documentary and Current Affairs

Part of the Adult Season, Small Teen, Big World followed the fortunes of Jazz, a 16 year old with restricted growth as she took her first steps towards independence.

 

Whether it is belief, babies or body image, bringing programming together around a single season or theme works well on BBC Three.  The Adult Season which brought together programmes which explored what it means to grow up was a great success as was our Dangerous Pleasures Season that kick-started the year. We are also seeking ideas for news seasons that will engage with our audience in 2011/2012.

We are also looking for ideas for single documentaries like the hard-hitting Women, Weddings, War and Me about a young girl travelling back to her birthplace to see what life is like for women in Afghan society and The World’s Worst Place to Be Gay.  We are interested in shining a light on issues at home as well as abroad 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
Following the success ‘...T-shirts’ and ‘...Takeaways’,  Blood, Sweat and Luxuries revealed the realities behind the production of luxury goods.

 

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 Blood, Sweat and Luxuries and World’s Strictest Parents. 

Reality documentaries like The Autistic Superstars and Kids with Guns: Stacey Dooley Investigates 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 Kill It, Cut It, Use It are good examples of hard-hitting series that deliver real insight and reveal shocking truths for our viewers.

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

We are looking for series as well as hour-long, one-off shows for both pre- and post-watershed slots.

Multiplatform Innovation 

Special 1 TV is a multiplatform puppet chat show featuring a latex Jose, Sven, Wayne and Fabio.

 

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

We're looking to use online to showcase and provide a platform for new talent (both on and off screen), to pilot brand new approaches to programme formats and see how our audience respond to these ideas. We're looking to commission a small number of web original short form content and long form pilots per year, especially in Drama, Comedy and Entertainment. Ideas need to to be genuinely innovative in their approach and draw on the creative potential of online .

Our most successful content is clever with multiplatform. Exclusive Being Human prequels appeared online ahead of the series launch and the blog served new and existing fans. The highly creative online spin-off Becoming Human scheduled after the TX of the main show gave something to those fans who wanted more.

Jail Tales fronted by Ashley Walters was an "of the web" concept which allowed people to talk about their experiences of prison through music and videos. We are looking for more distinctive ideas which are truly multiplatform at their heart. 

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 2010 BBC Three commissioned six films from new directors. The Blind Me and Alice and Her Six Dads both featured in The Adult 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 2011.

Who can enter?

To apply you must be 18 years or over on 7th March 2011 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.