
Jono ReadHolt, ENG, United Kingdom
Nov 26, 2015
It is not surprising to learn today the BBC Trust has approved the online-only move. It claims to be on the side of the viewer, but has ignored viewers throughout this lengthy and costly process. Some will argue this was a done deal from the start with the BBC Trust chair expressing support for the move before consultation begun. But I had some faith they might have been prepared to listen to hundreds of thousands of viewers when I launched the campaign.
To receive the news many of us expected is still bitterly disappointing. Especially as there will be no overall saving to the BBC for this move – the £30m saved from cutting the programming budget will just get spent on BBC1 instead.
The BBC claims young people are moving away from watching live television. I believe the key reason why young adults are turning their back on television is not because they’re not interested, it’s because we are one of the main demographics that television networks cut back on when it comes to cuts. They allowed the BBC to dismantle BBC Three over the past 18 months to justify their reasoning, from February it will move online-only putting at risk the audience that remains.
Over the coming days we will now mull over this decision. The campaign isn’t over yet. And if the decision can be challenged independently of the BBC and BBC Trust we will try do so. With hundreds of thousands on our side we still have the power to make something happen, so I will keep you updated if there are developments.
In the meantime please share on Twitter and Facebook this post I’ve written on the Guardian so others understand what has happened today - http://bit.ly/1YwhAci
A big thank you for all of the support over the past 19 months. Follow @SaveBBCThree on Twitter for more reaction, or drop me a tweet @JonoRead if you have anything extra to input.
You can also tweet your views to @BBCTrust while ‘BBC Three’ is trending today. They may not listen, but it might make you feel a bit better...
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