BBC Three back on TV - how to watch relaunch and…

BBC Three back on TV - how to watch relaunch and Freeview, Virgin, Sky and BT channel numbers

After nearly six years away from broadcast TV, BBC Three returns to screens this week.

BBC Three has been an online-only channel since 2016, but last year a deal was struck to get it back onto TV screens.

It relaunches on Freeview, BT, Virgin Media and Sky on Tuesday February 1. The first night back as a linear channel includes the first ever RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK Versus The World, featuring nine international Drag Queens from the hit franchise.

Looking ahead, BBC Three has pledged to provide more regional content and opportunities. Controller Fiona Campbell has said they are looking into commissioning a regional soap opera set in a city like Newcastle, Aberdeen or Belfast, to offer opportunities to actors and talent based outside London.

Speaking ahead of the channel’s launch, BBC Three controller Fiona Campbell said: “In terms of the UK, you can’t be relevant to your audience unless you’re making content that’s very close to your audience.

“I think people’s mobility, in terms of geographic mobility, has obviously gone down in recent years so the relevance of where they come from has gone up.”

She added that the channel has been focusing on creating content across the UK with regional independent teams in order to provide “regional creative opportunities and a pipeline of experience for the future”.

“That’s where I’m trying to take this channel, because then you’re relevant to people and important to them and you mean something to them,” she explained.

Fiona says BBC Three - which was initially launched in 2003 as a youth focussed channel - will have a “unfiltered, unapologetic and extraordinary" style, catering for the audience who kept the channel going during its online-only era by tuning into shows like Ru Paul, Angels of the North, Rap Game and Glow Up.

“Drag Race is definitely a core pillar of the channel’s identity, along with shows like Rap Game and, and Glow Up,” she said.

“Our channel is all about a concentrated experience of how tough it is to be super young in the UK today and that show epitomises and embodies that tough emotion and feeling.”

Fiona noted that, despite the rise of streaming services, she feels live television is still an important medium for creating “a moment” among viewers.

The channel launch comes amidst robust discussions about the future of the BBC licence fee, as the Government recently announced it would be under review.