The BBC has confirmed plans to produce original YouTube shows for the first time under a watershed agreement with the Google-owned platform.
First reported last week, the BBC has earmarked pots of money from across its TV and news divisions that will be used to fund “YouTube-first” shows, an important moment for the UK national broadcaster as it aims to meet young audiences where they consume content.
The BBC declined to disclose the funding committed to YouTube originals, but it will begin encouraging producers to pitch ideas for the initiative. YouTube-first shows will also be hosted on iPlayer and BBC Sounds.
Under the agreement, the BBC will grow its number of YouTube channels to 50, which includes those operated by commercial arm, BBC Studios. New specialist channels will include BBC3’s Deepwatch (working title), featuring new and existing BBC documentaries.
Seven children’s channels will also be launched, including The Epic Facts channel, which will bring together content from BBC series including Horrible Histories and Deadly 60.
The BBC will not carry advertising in the UK around the new YouTube originals, given that the corporation is funded by the licence fee. The BBC does allow ads on YouTube Shorts and promotional content, but this is a limited income stream. BBC Studios will continue to monetize BBC-branded YouTube channels outside of the UK.
The BBC has maintained a presence on YouTube for more than 20 years. BBC Studios content generates 15B annual views on YouTube, according to the corporation, while the BBC’s main account has 15.3M subscribers and 11.9B views.
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