[4] It returned to broadcast television in the form of a late-night strand on BBC One on Monday to Wednesday nights since 4 March 2019.

[18] There was notable backlash against the measures, with celebrities including Greg James, Matt Lucas and Jack Whitehall speaking out.

They believed the public welcomed a BBC One +1 as it admits "a vast majority of viewing still takes place on linear channels".

[22] The BBC Trust began a 28-day public consultation regarding the plans on 20 January 2015[23] and it ended with a protest outside Broadcasting House.

[24] As part of the consultation a letter of 750 names against the move from the creative industry was sent to the BBC Trust, and this had the backing of a number of celebrities including Daniel Radcliffe, Aidan Turner, Olivia Colman and Lena Headey.

[25] The polling company ICM concluded a "large majority" of those that replied to the consultation were against the move,[22] with respondents particularly concerned about those who cannot stream programming online, the effect of the content budget cuts, and the BBC's own admission the audience numbers would drop.

The Trust also approved related proposals to allow first-run and third-party content on iPlayer, as well an extension to CBBC's broadcast day to 9pm.

[31][32] The channel space carried promotional information regarding the BBC Three online service as well as limited programming until it officially shut down on 31 March.

[40][42] On 16 September 2021, the UK media regulator Ofcom announced provisional approval for allowing BBC Three to return as a broadcast channel in 2022.

[43][44] On 25 November 2021, Ofcom announced it had given final approval for BBC Three to relaunch as a broadcast channel with a set period of February 2022, one month later than originally expected.

[46] Following an introduction by Bimini Bon-Boulash, the relaunched channel's first programme was The Launch Party, a preview special hosted by BBC Radio 1's Clara Amfo and Greg James.

This was followed by news programme The Catch Up, an Eating With My Ex celebrity special, and the premieres of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World, Lazy Susan, and the documentary Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud.

Some of the most popular comedy programmes on the channel in its original incarnation featured stand-up comedians performing their own take on a subject, usually the news, examples of which include Russell Howard's Good News (which later transferred to BBC Two, partly due to its success, and partly to BBC Three's move to online only) and Lee Nelson's Well Good Show.

The sitcom was an instant hit, with subsequent series being moved to other BBC channels and the show being granted a Christmas special.

This programming decision coincided with the relaunch of the channel and helped it break the one million viewers milestone for the first time.

[56] Among its original programming, the channel also gave viewers the comedy drama Pramface, which was written by Chris Reddy and comprised 19 episodes over three series, broadcast between 2012 and 2014.

BBC Three also aired several youth-focused documentaries, including the BAFTA-winning Our War, Blood, Sweat and T-shirts (as well as its subsequent sequels), Life & Death Row and a season of films focused on mental illness.

[57][58] BBC Three also commissions a number of one-off documentaries, including Growing Up Down's (2014), My Brother the Islamist (2011), Small Teen Big World (2010); Stormchaser: The Butterfly and the Tornado (2012) and The Autistic Me (2009).

Many were commissioned through BBC Three's FRESH scheme which provided an opportunity for 'the next generation of directors' to make their first 60-minute documentaries for the channel.

In its original incarnation, BBC Three featured 60 Seconds, an hourly summary of news, sport and entertainment headlines.

However, the BBC discontinued the bulletin in December 2005, following a recommendation made in the 2004 Barwise Report, which found that the channel's target audience sought news from elsewhere.

The 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments were shown on the channel, while it is scheduled to air the semi-finals and final of the 2021 edition.

BBC Online provided a number of downloads and activities based on the channel's identity, these included "BlobMate", screensavers, wallpapers and also games such as BlobLander and BlobBert.

Kieron Elliott, Dean Lydiate, Duncan Newmarch, Lola Buckley, Gavin Inskip and Jen Long provided out-of-vision continuity.

Designed by Claire Powell at Red Bee Media, the idents utilised projection mapping effects.

Inspired by the iconography of mobile applications, the new logo incorporated the Roman numeral for the number 3, with the third bar replaced by an exclamation mark.

Marketing head Nikki Carr explained that the three bars represented the three principles of BBC Three as a service; making viewers "think", "laugh", and have a voice.

The rebrand in 2021 proved to be short-lived, as with the service's linear relaunch in February 2022, BBC Three adopted a new identity developed by Superunion and BBC Creative, with idents featuring three animated, pink and purple-coloured hands named "Captain", "Spider", and "Pointer" interacting in a lime green backdrop.

The channel's presentation features the hands "irreverently [observing] what's going on in popular culture and young people's lives".

[86][87] In July 2010 a UK music magazine printed a letter from the pressure group Friends of Radio 3 that criticised BBC Three for having 'comedies, game shows, films and documentaries, but no arts programming at all'.