The BBC is expected to announce plans to produce programmes specifically for YouTube. Media reports suggest that the broadcaster will produce programmes that will appear on YouTube before being released on its own online platforms. YouTube recently passed the monthly reach of the BBC and has become the first place many younger viewers turn to watch on a television screen.
Distribution on YouTube would enable the BBC to generate a share of advertising revenue when programmes are watched outside the United Kingdom. It would extend existing deals with BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC.
There have been notable international successes with programmes like Bluey, which is produced by an Australian company and commissioned by the ABC with the BBC, with BBC Studios holding the global distribution and merchandising rights. It has had over 13 billion views on YouTube since it launched.
The measurement organisation Barb reported that YouTube had a 3-minute monthly reach of 51.9 million viewers in the United Kingdom in December, surpassing 50.8 million for all BBC viewing.
That is a measure of watching YouTube for at least 3 consecutive minutes over the month, which can hardly be considered as viewing in any meaningful sense. On a 15-minute measure the BBC is still ahead with an average monthly reach of 47 million compared to YouTube with 41 million. Yet it can be seen as a tipping point at which YouTube has overtaken the BBC by at least one metric. That is a problem for the BBC, which has always presented itself as a universal public service.
YouTube has already overtaken total viewing of ITV, the leading commercial broadcaster, to become the second most watched source on television.
Distributing programmes on YouTube may enable the BBC to reach viewers, particularly younger generations, that are otherwise not watching its programmes.
On the other hand, it could simply accelerate the trend, reducing recognition for the BBC and weakening its raison d’être as a public service broadcaster.
The BBC is currently negotiating its future through a renewal of its Charter, which inevitably involves consideration of how it is funded, with pressure to demonstrate more commercial self-sufficiency.
BBC Studios generated a statutory operating profit of £82 million on revenues of £2.1 billion last year. Total BBC income was £5.9 billion, of which £3.8 billion came from television licence fees, with a total deficit of £112 million for the year.