BBC Three to go online

BBC Three is to simultaneously broadcast its programmes over the web from next month. The move is part of an ambitious plan from the BBC to re-brand the much-maligned channel after recent budget cuts and the announcement that it would be selling off BBC Television Centre. Controller of BBC Three, Danny Cohen, says: "BBC Three is aiming to become Britain's most ambitious multi-platform network – combining television and the web into a single, integrated offering. "At BBC Three we should be known for pioneering risk, and be obsessed with all things new – new talent, new programmes, and a new relationship between television and the internet," Cohen continued. The channel will also have a host of new programmes, including Lily Allen And Friends, a show based on social networking and a programme that mixes comedy sketches with computer animation called The Wrong Door. There will also be a second series of Gavin and Stacey and Heroes 2, as well as live coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations and the Glastonbury festival. "The thinking behind this re-brand of the channel is that we have, in effect, created a BBC Three world in which our content can move seamlessly between TV, online and mobile. We have a fantastic line-up of programmes and we are going to make them available wherever young people want them," said Cohen. www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree