The BBC is reportedly in the final stages of securing a deal with YouTube to produce online content for the internet’s largest video sharing platform.
Financial Times reports that the BBC will announce this landmark deal as early as next week, with the British network agreeing to make bespoke content that will be shown exclusively on YouTube before making its way to BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.
The BBC has previously used YouTube for trailers and clips to promote its own content, but the upcoming deal aims to give the network another home for its shows in an attempt to branch out and attract younger audiences.
These YouTube premieres will reportedly be a mixture of short-form and long-form content, including children’s shows and sports productions.
The agreement comes after last year’s analytics that YouTube’s audience has overtaken the BBC’s for the first time, with 52m people watching YouTube in December — compared with the BBC’s estimated ratings of 51m.
The BBC is also facing a public lawsuit from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is fighting the network over an allegedly misleading Panorama documentary. He claims the BBC was biased in its depiction of his speech on January 6, 2021, and is seeking $10 billion in reparations. The BBC has filed to dismiss the lawsuit, but it may come at a severe financial cost.
The BBC’s deal with YouTube is not only an attempt to increase viewership with younger audiences, but also an opportunity to increase the network’s revenue by advertising for its new content outside the U.K. As a public-service broadcaster, the BBC does not currently make a profit through advertising in its home country.
YouTube’s recent deal with the Academy Awards may also have contributed to the BBC’s interest; the website will officially host the Oscars ceremony in 2029 after several decades on ABC.
Neither the BBC nor YouTube has yet commented on the reports.
