BBC confirms content partnership with YouTube

BBC Group and YouTube have confirmed a strategic partnership focused on investments in new programming, collaborating to showcase more BBC moments that bring the UK together on YouTube, and upskilling the next generation of future creators and producers from across the UK. According to BBC, partnering with YouTube is part of its ‘value for all’ strategy, ensuring more of its content is accessible to all audiences where they are, in addition to its services such as iPlayer and BBC Sounds, where the new programming will launch at the same time.

The BBC will expand its YouTube activities, focusing on four areas -

·         Build targeted communities for UK children and young adults – with the launch of new targeted channels including Deepwatch (w/t), featuring new and existing BBC documentaries and seven new children’s channel including The Epic Facts channel featuring content from CBBC’s Operation Ouch, Horrible Histories, Horrible Science and Deadly 60.

·         Promote key BBC programme brands – especially for those people that don’t come to the BBC often to ensure they get value from the BBC,

·         Deliver trusted news – by providing news that cuts through the noise with new global channels, real-time live story streams and innovative story formats.

·         Drive commercial growth through global fandoms – through a deeper connection with fans and partnerships with brands, partners and creators.

This new partnership builds on the BBC’s strong digital performance and popular third-party channels. The approach is already delivering at scale, with BBC data showing there were 15 billion annual YouTube views of BBC Studio content, with watch time nearly doubling year on year and engagement continuing to grow across key global markets. 

Kim Chua, Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants, who specialises in media, broadcasting, and digital transformation has said: 

"The pendulum is swinging towards Global-tech owned social media and video sharing platforms.  YouTube, Meta, TikTok, and their algorithms and content discovery rules will determine what an increasing proportion of people watch, read and hear; and therefore influence public opinion and national discourse. That is a huge responsibility, and one which YouTube - and its parent Google - seem most able to work with regulators, broadcasters and content creators to manage.  I expect them to lead the way, working out how to balance their responsibilities to their audiences as well as multiple industry and government stakeholders.  We may enter a future where the blunt instruments such the mooted Under-16s social media ban, are fine-tuned to distinguish between social platforms which face into their responsibilities – and those which do not.

This is also a great opportunity for the BBC to point its amazing creative firepower at building new global franchises, generating much-needed new revenue streams from global audiences; critical given the increasing pressure on its licence fees."