The BBC is set to debut some new shows and formats on YouTube for the first time according to a new report by the FT which says a deal with the popular streaming service could be announced as early as next week.
Rival UK broadcasters ITV and Channel 4 already make new shows and titles from their back catalogue available through the platform which is now the UK’s second most popular outlet for TV content.
In contrast, while it offers a selection of audio content through 3rd party services such as Apple Podcasts, the BBC has so far stuck with an increasingly out of date approach of requiring audiences to come to its own channels and iPlayer app in order to access TV programmes.
Even as audiences have shrunk and the number of viewers paying the Licence Fee has fallen, managers have been seemingly disinterested in taking the BBC’s content to audiences on other platforms.
To date the BBC’s use of YouTube has been limited to low-effort activities such as publishing trailers, selected news reports and random segments of archive shows such as Tomorrow’s World.
Its commercial arm has a separate YouTube strategy centred around publishing content from a few ‘hero’ brands including Doctor Who.
The FT’s report says the YouTube partnership will initially focus on the younger BBC Three audience and will include entertainment formats, some sports programming and news content.
Outside the UK the shows will include advertising, raising additional income for the BBC, while inside the UK they’ll eventually find their way to the iPlayer and BBC Sounds.
Out of Date Approach
The BBC’s isolationist approach is increasingly out of keeping with wider TV industry trends.
In addition to its deal with YouTube, ITV makes some of its recent shows available via Disney+ and offers its wider ITVX on-demand service through Prime Video.
Beyond the UK, French broadcaster TF1 recently struck a deal for its content to be available within the Netflix app while Spain’s RTVE and France’s M6 have similar deals in place with Amazon’s Prime Video.
To date the BBC’s sole concession to the changing media landscape has been to make shows from its UK commercial streaming app U available through Channel 4’s app.
Ministers are considering placing an obligation on the BBC to revise this approach and harness the power of third-party apps and platforms, with the Government’s ongoing consultation on the BBC’s next charter including questions on the topic.