Jowell has requested that the BBC provide additional information to clear up areas such as regional output and the use of UK talent on the new channel.
Yesterday, Jowell is also understood to have asked the BBC to provide further justification of its digital channel for the 16- to 34-year-old market, after she held a meeting with commercial TV companies on Monday.
The BBC has already had to resubmit its proposal for BBC3, after Jowell rejected it in its first format in September on the grounds that it was not distinctive enough from the youth channels already offered by the commercial sector.
The culture secretary is said to be looking for proof that the channel will offer something different. It will need to draw viewers who would not normally watch digital TV, if the BBC is to be allowed to use licence-fee money to fund its planned 拢90m annual budget.
It has also been suggested that Jowell may force the BBC to reduce the channel's budget.
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