BBC and YouTube launch groundbreaking partnership featuring new digital channels

The BBC and YouTube have unveiled details of their ground-breaking partnership, which focuses on investments in YouTube programming and upskilling future creators and producers.  

The BBC said the content it launches on YouTube will also drop at the same time on iPlayer and BBC Sounds, with the aim to ensure more content is accessible to younger audiences. 

It also plans to use the video-sharing site to build targeted communities for UK children and young adults with the launch of new channels focused on their interests.  

These include Deepwatch (w/t), featuring new and existing BBC documentaries, and seven new children’s channels including The Epic Facts channel featuring content from CBBC’s Operation Ouch, Horrible Histories, Horrible Science and Deadly 60.  

It will also promote key BBC programme brands – especially for those people who don’t come to the BBC often – as well as delivering trusted news via new global channels and real-time live story streams.  

The BBC also wants to encourage more partnerships with brands and creators, and create deeper connections with fans around the world, to drive commercial growth.  

The partnership will see the BBC and YouTube support the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan by investing more in upskilling UK creators and established TV producers who want to create digital-first content.  

Led by the National Film and Television School (NFTS), 150 media professionals will be invited to develop their YouTube skills with a series of workshops and events. A specially curated training programme will be hosted online and at BBC hubs around the UK.  

Outgoing director general Tim Davis said: “It’s essential that everyone gets value from the BBC, and this groundbreaking partnership will help us connect with audiences in new ways.  

“We’re building from a strong start and this takes us to the next level, with bold homegrown content in formats audiences want on YouTube and an unprecedented training programme to upskill the next generation of YouTube creators from across the UK. Importantly, this partnership also allows new audiences different routes into BBC services like BBC iPlayer and Sounds.”  

Vice president EMEA at YouTube Pedro Pina added: “This partnership translates the BBC’s world-class content for a digital-first audience, ensuring its cultural impact reaches a younger, more global audience.  

“Beyond the content, our first-of-its-kind training programme represents a deep investment in the UK’s creative pipeline designed to empower the next generation of British talent to lead the global creator economy. In doing so, we are not just telling the stories of today; we are building the stage for the storytellers of tomorrow.”  

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