This is interesting. The originally planned remit of BBC Three was intended to have a higher percentage of imported programmes as part of its schedule, but that particular proposal was rejected as being 'not imaginative enough' hence was subsequently revised to create the current so-called 'distinctive' schedule with a very high percentage of UK programming.
So what we might be seeing here is a partial retreat from the claim that lots of reasonably original programming was sufficent to turn BBC Three into a successful channel, but there again it was always going to struggle to attract a consistent audience of young adults given the budget constraints together with the difficulty of attracting this discerning audience.
The commercial sector is bound to be annoyed by this move, especially given Julian Bellamy's stated intention of being "even more single-minded" about capturing its young target audience (which also happens to be the most popular for commercial advertisers), but illustrates the BBC's continuing quest to remain relevant to all age groups in the face of competition.
It's ironic though that the main competitor to Neighbours is not only produced domestically (Hollyoaks) but is also shown on a channel with a public service remit - Channel 4. Maybe the BBC could strike a deal to swap Neighbours with Hollyoaks?
