CBBC to extend evening schedule until 9pm despite parents' concerns

Children's TV channel will broadcast for two extra hours despite worries the change will encourage children to stay up late

The BBC views CBBC as crucially important in ensuring its relevance to future generations (Getty Images)

The BBC children’s channel CBBC is to extend its evening schedule for two hours until 9pm despite parental concerns that the change will encourage children to stay up late.

As expected, the BBC Trust approved a controversial plan to move its youth-orientated channel BBC3 to an online-only service in order to save money. As a result, space is available in the BBC’s TV output for more CBBC programming.

Reporting results of public consultation on the changes, the Trust admitted there was considerable opposition to the expansion of CBBC. “9pm was regarded as too late for younger children to be watching TV and that they should either be in bed or preparing for bed,” it said. “There was also a belief that extending the viewing hours of CBBC to 9pm would undermine other valuable activities such as family time, hobbies and homework.”

One teacher told the Trust: “This encourages younger viewers to stay up later. As a teacher I already find that many children come to school tired because they have been up too late watching television.”

The plan also faced “near-unanimous opposition” from television industry rivals but the Trust concluded that the “likely public value” from the extended service outweighed any negative impact on the market.

The BBC views CBBC as crucially important in ensuring its relevance to future generations. Some respondents to the public consultation said longer hours for CBBC would allow children aged between 10 and 16, who often stay up later than 7pm, to watch programmes “suitable for children”.

Announcing backing for the closure of BBC3, the BBC Trust acknowledged the difficulty for the broadcaster in reaching young audiences.

Richard Ayre, a BBC Trustee, said that there would “almost certainly” be a fall in the BBC’s young audience in the immediate aftermath of BBC3’s demise as a TV channel.

Suzanna Taverne, chair of the BBC Trust's Services Committee, which led the assessment of the BBC's proposals, said: “The decision to close a TV channel is a difficult one, and one we have not taken lightly. The BBC must adapt with its audiences; the evidence is very clear that younger audiences are watching more online and less linear [scheduled] TV.”

The BBC governing body gave the go-ahead to the controversial plan despite a campaign to keep the channel on television, led by comedians including Russell Kane. The BBC rejected an offer by independent TV comedy companies to buy the network as a commercial venture, a proposal backed by Steve Coogan.

Two hours of BBC3’s longer programmes, including youth-skewed documentary and drama, will be introduced every week to the BBC1 and BBC2 schedules.

BBC3 will move online in a phased process between January and February. The new online service will be reviewed within 18 months. The changes are part of a programme of cost savings at the BBC, which last week announced a further round of £150m cuts, including reductions to budgets for buying sports rights.

Proposals by the BBC for a BBC1+1 delayed channel were rejected by the BBC Trust.