The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is hoping to expand the reach of its global news channel by bringing a live streaming simulcast of the network to YouTube in two key countries.
Streamers in the United Kingdom and the United States can now watch the 24-hour BBC News feed via the BBC News YouTube channel, the broadcaster announced Thursday.
The rollout of the 24-hour news feed on YouTube is part of a test before the BBC deploys access to the channel in other countries. Viewers in Poland, Kenya, Australia and Nigeria will also have access to the live BBC News feed on YouTube in the coming days. The move comes after reports over the summer that the BBC was considering a launch of its international news feed on YouTube to drum up viewership at a time when the global appetite for reliable news has increased amid geopolitical turbulence.
“Audiences increasingly expect news to be available wherever they are, on the platforms they use throughout their day,” Anjali Kapoor, the Director of AI, Innovation and Growth at the BBC, said in a statement on Thursday. “Launching the BBC News channel on YouTube in the U.K. and U.S. is an important step in bringing our trusted journalism to even more people. It will make it easier for audiences to access live coverage of the stories shaping our world, while helping us reach new audiences in the places and at the times that work best for them.”
The BBC controls its own domestic news channel in the United Kingdom, while the broadcaster licenses its global news channel for distribution in the United States. AMC Global Media handles distribution rights stateside, and has offered BBC News on free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms like Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus and Xumo Play since late 2024.
BBC News is also available as a free streaming channel through the BBC app in the United Kingdom and the United States. The channel primarily competes against other global news channels that offer free streaming access via YouTube, including Comcast’s Sky News International, France 24 English, Deutsche Welle, ABC News Australia, Al Jazeera English, TRT World and NHK English.
