The Beeb is doubling down on YouTube as a way of reaching kids & families, rolling out seven new children’s channels as part of a broader partnership with the video platform that will also see the companies launch a digital training program for UK creators and producers. 

The new kids channels are expected to improve discoverability for BBC brands and drive more viewers to iPlayer. The broadcaster has only shared info about one so far: The Epic Facts, a science and education-focused channel, will offer content from CBBC series Operation Ouch, Horrible Histories (pictured), Horrible Science and Deadly 60. 

The Beeb would not say whether YouTube was providing any additional resources for creating or promoting new content as part of this partnership.

For the kids industry, this shift in focus to YouTube will seem more like an obvious move than a huge surprise. The platform’s dominance has created an existential crisis for the broadcaster; UK media regulator Ofcom has said that as more UK viewers migrate to YouTube, public media will have to either adapt to this new reality or die. But the trade org acknowledged the BBC’s recent efforts to embrace this reality as a step in the right direction. In 2024 and 2025, the pubcaster evolved its YouTube strategy well beyond just posting short clips and began using the platform to launch original content, including seven new digital-first Bluey series. 

The BBC Studios Digital Brands team, which commissions and curates content for Beeb brands, has produced a few digital kids hits already—including Bluey Book Reads, which has racked up more than 75 million views on YouTube. It has also expanded the reach of Bluey’s YouTube channel to 13 million subscribers. And this success has allowed the team to triple its spending in the last few years, according to Jasmine Dawson, SVP of BBC Studios Digital Brands, in a previous interview with Kidscreen. 

Thanks to initiatives like these, the BBC’s share of broadcaster viewing among four- to 15-year-olds hit 40% in 2024, said OFCOM in its report, representing a solid increase from 34% in 2022.  

In terms of the training program outlined in this new partnership between the Beeb and YouTube, the National Film and Television School will take 150 media professionals through a series of online and in-person workshops and events designed to improve their YouTube skills. For YouTube, this is an opportunity to support UK talent and grow the BBC’s presence on the platform, said VP of EMEA Pedro Pena, “ensuring that its cultural impact reaches a younger, more global audience”. 

“Our first-of-its-kind training program 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,” added Pina. “In doing so, we are not just telling the stories of today; we are building the stage for the storytellers of tomorrow.”