FBC 3
FBC 3 is the youth-centric service of the Flarlandian Broadcasting Corporation. It started broadcasting in 1990.
History[edit | edit source]
FBC 3 was one of the two channels created by a 1989 report on misuse of the UHF spectrum on Flarlandian television. It and Channel 14 were going to use frequencies occupied by illegal television stations, most of them shut down in 1989 along with their radio counterparts.
The FBC's service was announced in February 1990 and was scheduled to start in 1990. Eventually a September 17 date was settled for both channels, however the FBC was going to launch their service at 6pm - Channel 14 had a "soft launch" at 5pm with K-Zone and a news bulletin at 7pm.
The service, in line with the rebrand of the FBC's television operations, was named Network Three. Initially it was on air from 6pm to midnight and was attaining low ratings at first, compared to Channel 14, who was in a dire state of its programming. At the time of launch, FBC 3's programming concentrated primarily on music shows - sadly their deal with Music Box - who had been supplying programs to FBC 2 before FBC 3's launch - had went bankrupt; and most of the shows were made locally. The channel added a breakfast program (albeit running from 10am to 12pm), The Late Breakfast Show, in simulcast with FBC Radio 3, in 1991. This was later adjusted to Radio 3's morning show, from 6 to 10. Club X was added to the schedule, after moving from Channel Ten.
The rise of youth culture in Flarland profoundly affected the FBC's output (so was its competitor, Channel 14), yet by the time Channel 14 had premiered On The Hour, FBC 3 was still lacking behind on ratings tables. By 1995, Hapes became the FBC's answer to Channel 14's rising influence.
In 1996, following a restructure of the FBC's television service, the channel was renamed FBC 3. By this time, it managed to become a more "mainstream" competitor to Channel 14, grabbing a number of television series that were previously run on FBC 1 (formerly Network One) like The Simpsons, Friends and a then-upcoming Flarlandian television series, Insomnia Café, a series initially made for FBC 1. This had led to a new conflict between it and Channel 14, to the extent that web forums constantly said "who is better?". Secondary to the conflict was Channel A. It was a successful channel around this time, but was available on cable. Another factor was the FBC putting sports around its three main channels. The 1996 and 2000 Olympics were also notable for causing "natural erosion" to the schedules of the channel, as it also received overflow from FBC 1 and 2.
The FBC repositioned FBC 3 in 2002 as "the channel for the future of Flarland".
In 2012, FBC 3 was targeted by the corporation's efficiency plan, aiming for a shutdown.
Branding[edit | edit source]
Between January 29, 2002 and March 31, 2004, FBC 3 used a colorful identity package featuring a heavy horizontal division. The channel's logo was now just a number 3 in a "standard typeface" to showcase its "minimalist efforts to stay on air", compared to the circle 1 used by FBC 1. This minimalism was contrasted with the heavy use of colors.
Following the 2004 rebrand, it adopted the FBC "fish", tinted red. Red became its standard color for the first time in two years.
