The key facts
- The BBC News channel launched as a live stream on YouTube in the UK and the US as part of a trial starting on Thursday, 15 October 2026.
- The channel is already available on YouTube in Australia, Kenya, Nigeria and Poland.
- According to Ofcom, YouTube is the second most popular media service in the UK after the BBC itself.
Launch on YouTube
The BBC News channel has become available as a live stream on YouTube for viewers in the UK and the US. The trial launch began on Thursday, 15 October 2026. BBC leadership called it a "significant step" in expanding access to "trusted, impartial journalism in the places people use every day." The launch extends a practice already in place on YouTube in Australia, Kenya, Nigeria and Poland. The channel offers round-the-clock coverage of international and domestic news, as well as political, business, technology, culture and sport events.
Strategy and comments
Expanding access is part of a broader BBC strategy to reach a new, "digital" and young audience. The corporation's YouTube strategy is seen as a response to growing audience fragmentation: there is no longer any guarantee that viewers switch on a specific channel. BBC News director for AI, innovation and growth Anjali Kapoor said that audiences "increasingly expect news to be available where they are, on the platforms they use throughout the day," and that the YouTube launch is an important step in attracting new viewers.
Funding and licence context
The BBC notes that the move is also aimed at combating disinformation on social media, and coincides with negotiations on the corporation's charter and funding after 2027. Meanwhile, UK viewers watching the channel live on YouTube still need a TV licence, but the BBC has no technical means of requiring proof of payment — enforcing this is difficult. In July, the new BBC director general Matt Brittin (formerly of Google) called the TV licence model "lost" and "outdated," without specifying what to replace it with; he and BBC chairman Samir Shah proposed that the government reconsider the mandatory household fee. Most of the BBC's funding comes from the licence, which costs £180 a year, but the number of paying households is declining.
Channel history and Ofcom data
The channel launched on British TV in 1997 as BBC News 24, has been called BBC News Channel since 2008, and in 2023 merged with BBC World News into a single BBC News channel, also available via iPlayer, the website and the app. Last year, the regulator Ofcom reported that YouTube had become the UK's second most popular media service after the BBC: one in five young viewers opens the platform first on a smart TV. Earlier this year, the BBC announced a "landmark" deal with YouTube to create content specifically for the platform: outside the UK, such programmes will be shown with advertising, bringing the corporation additional funds.
The channel went live on YouTube on Thursday (BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri pictured)
Image source, Getty Images
Streaming giant YouTube is owned by Google
Director of BBC News and Current Affairs Rachel Jupp began her new role this week
Image source, Reuters
BBC director general Matt Brittin joined the BBC this year after nearly two decades working for leading tech company Google
