BBC Three relaunch is winning over youth audience

by Staff, Brand Republic 12-Mar-08, 10:40

LONDON - BBC Three is remaining defiant over criticism about its relaunch, saying that its share of the youth audience has risen by 44% in the space of a month.

In a statement this morning, the BBC said that share among 16- to 34-year-olds stood at 3.9% for the past month, a rise of 44% on the figure for the same period last year and the highest share for the age group among all digital channels.

It is also pointing to the fact that 41% of its audience is now in the 16 to 34 age group as a sign of success. This figure is up by 14% compared with last year.

Despite receiving a roasting from critics and reports of low ratings, the new chat show 'Lily Allen and Friends' is the second most requested programme on BBC iPlayer -- no doubt reflecting the fact that the singer became a star in the first place partly because of social networking site MySpace.

Another BBC Three programme, 'Being Human', became the most requested programme on BBC iPlayer the day after its first episode aired.

Danny Cohen, controller of BBC Three, said: "I'm delighted that young audiences have responded so positively to the changes we've made to BBC Three. We are going to continue to work hard to introduce new programmes and new talent to our target audience."

While the first instalment of 'Lily Allen & Friends' drew 2% of the multichannel audience when it aired, there were reports in the press that a third of the studio audience had walked out of the show's taping because of boredom.