Background The BBC had been wanting to expand into the digital television market for a number of years, as their Director-General
Sir John Birt said, "The BBC has always been a pioneer of technology". Originally this was by their association with Flextech, which spawned the
UKTV network. Both companies had different ideas on how the new channels would be run: the BBC wanted the channels branded as BBC channels, but Flextech wanted the channels to contain advertising. The BBC refused, stating that no domestic BBC channel should carry advertising. In the end, a compromise was made: Two of the channels would launch as BBC channels:
BBC Showcase, and
BBC Learning (later became
BBC Knowledge), with the remainder of the channels being launched as the UKTV network, intended to be BBC in all but name. Prior to the launch, the channel changed its name from BBC Showcase to BBC Choice.
Launch When BBC Choice launched in 23 September 1998, no digital TV receivers were available to the general public as
Sky Digital and
ONdigital had not yet launched. Instead, the launch programme was broadcast over the internet, with the first day's schedule including a ''
Tomorrow's World guide to digital television and repeats of the very first episodes of EastEnders and Monty Python's Flying Circus''. The main format of the channel was a mix of BBC One and Two programming as well as original programming such as
Backstage, broadcast live each weeknight, which took viewers behind the scenes of different parts of the BBC. The channel also provided exclusive coverage of music festivals such as
Glastonbury and extended live coverage of sport, for when either BBC One or Two have to end their coverage early or their schedules are unable to provide live sport action. BBC Choice also introduced an innovative programme format known as 'Hotlink', which expanded on popular shows. Examples included
Watchdog Extra, where viewers could contact the show by phone or e-mail with either questions or feedback on the issues discussed.
Crimewatch Extra provided follow-up detail on the cases involved in the main programme, and
Row Z was a football discussion forum that aired after
Match of the Day finished on BBC One. The 'Hotlink' format has since been adopted by many other channels, particularly both
ITV2 and
E4. BBC Choice initially broadcast from 5pm daily; this later switched to 7pm. The 7pm start carried over into its successor BBC Three.
Children's programming BBC Choice also aired
children's programmes; this duty transferred to
CBBC and
CBeebies when they launched on 11 February 2002. For the first year of BBC Choice, children's programming would air on weekend afternoons as
CBBC Choice, and included strands like 'Dog & Dinosaur', 'The Crew Room', 'L&K Replay' and 'Re:Peter'. From 29 November 1999, this was supplanted with a daily
CBBC on Choice strand, running from 6am to 7pm every day, for programmes aimed at pre-school children, with presentation links pre-recorded by a CBBC presenter. It included repeats of archive shows rarely seen on the main channels, such as the first few series of
Bodger & Badger,
Mr Benn,
Paddington,
Simon and the Witch,
Ivor the Engine,
Jonny Briggs,
Pigeon Street, and
Bitsa. This continued until February 2002, when the
CBBC and
CBeebies channels launched, with the
CBBC channel taking up BBC Choice's daytime broadcast bandwidth, but occupying a separate
EPG position.
Post-2000 refresh In June 2000, the BBC radically changed its digital channel formats. The initial format had seen BBC Choice target a similar mixed audience to BBC One and Two with a general entertainment skew, with BBC Knowledge focusing on educational and informative programming. From 2000 both Knowledge and Choice became targeted to more specific audiences, with Knowledge moving to a broader documentary and culture mix and Choice focusing on developing a stronger relationship with the young adult audience, which historically the BBC had difficulty reaching. BBC Choice abandoned many of its original programmes such as
Backstage, and aimed at younger people, with most of the early part of the schedules being made up of fifteen-minute programmes under the banner of "Refreshing TV" or "Micro TV". Entertainment news magazine
Liquid News, presented by
Christopher Price, evolved out of News 24's
Zero 30 and became the channel's flagship show.
Announcement of the end of BBC Choice In August 2000, the BBC announced that it would replace BBC Choice with
BBC Three as soon as possible, which would become a continuation of the "youth" aspect of the new BBC Choice. But the government delayed approving BBC Three, which formed part of wider plans to reshape the BBC's digital provision, plans which also included the proposed
BBC Four, two children's channels, and five digital radio stations. Whilst BBC Three was delayed, the other proposals gained the approval of Parliament and the new channels went on air in 2002, meaning BBC Four launched prior to BBC Three. From October 2001, BBC Choice began screening a significant amount of new, young-skewing programming, the kind of content that had been earmarked for BBC Three. The BBC submitted a revised proposal for the new channel raised the target age range to 25–34 and increased the amount of factual and arts programming, with a nightly 15-minute news programme – it was hoped these changes would better illustrate how BBC Three would differ from rivals such as
E4,
ITV2 and
Sky One. This new proposal for BBC Three was given the go-ahead in September 2002, with a set of public-service conditions laid down and a launch date of February 2003 set. The final night of BBC Choice was given over entirely to previews of the new channel. ==Programming==