BBC Children’s & Education is expanding its YouTube offering and commissioning new digital-first content aimed at reaching children across the UK.
Under plans announced today, six new themed YouTube channels will deliver content for older children, including microdramas, creator-led comedy, factual entertainment, and other digital-first formats. Highlights include:
Epic Facts – Factual content aimed at curious audiences, such as Horrible Science.
Non-Stop Chaos – Comedy, pranks, and highlights from CBBC shows.
The Next Step microdrama – a YouTube-first production launching in February 2026, also available on iPlayer, offering short-form episodic content for digital audiences.
The expansion builds on existing channels, including CBBC, CBeebies, and BBC Bitesize, to provide a broader range of programming online. A CBeebies Parenting YouTube channel is also planned later in 2026 to provide guidance for families.
Patricia Hidalgo, director of BBC Children’s & Education, said: “We aim to provide trusted, inclusive, and accessible public service content for children and families. Expanding our digital-first formats and YouTube presence helps us reach audiences where they are and support learning and entertainment.”
In addition, the BBC Ignite animation programme, designed to develop UK animation talent, continues to grow. The first production, Duck and Frog (50 x 7’), created by Bristol-based animator Sam Shaw and produced by Sun & Moon, premieres on BBC iPlayer on February 13. Seven additional projects have progressed to Stage Three of Ignite, working with UK production partners to develop new content for children 7–12.
BBC Children’s & Education also provides curriculum-linked resources through BBC Bitesize and live classroom content, including Live Lessons and topical assemblies. For younger audiences, CBeebies Bedtime Stories Read and Raves will take place in libraries across the UK, complementing the BBC’s digital-first content strategy.
