End of an era as pioneering BBC3 becomes an online-only station

13 years ago, BBC3 launched in the UK. Last night, the TV station broadcast over the airwaves for the last time. In a bid to slash expenditure, the youth-oriented channel that launched countless comedy careers is now only available online.

The likes of Being Human, The Mighty Boosh, Gavin and Stacey, and the like will live on, but only on the web -- which the BBC is spinning as an opportunity to be freed from the constraints of regular scheduling. The change has been known about for some time now, and there have been a number of campaigns and petitions to try to get the BBC to change its mind.

It might seem strange that there is such a vocal outpouring about the loss of a TV channel, particularly when it is not being completely killed off. But BBC3, like its more serious sibling BBC4, has been held in high regard for many years, thanks largely to the fact that a massive proportion of its output was original. The channel was used as a testing ground for shows that later became huge, with many migrating to the more mainstream BBC channels.

With the channel's budget slashed from £85 million to £30 million, it was clear that something had to budge. BBC iPlayer will now be home to the channel's edgy output. The BBC says that "younger people do watch most TV online anyway", but this does not take into account the channel's full demographic, nor cater to viewers with no, slow, or capped internet access.

It remains to be seen just how popular BBC3 is in its online incarnation. It's hard to imagine that audience figures will do anything other than drop; while the channel has always been youth-centric, the move to online-only broadcasting is likely to alienate swathes of casual viewers who will no longer be able to accidentally stumble across a gem of a show whilst idly flicking through the program guide.

Thanks for everything, BBC3.