‘Linear TV Is Dead?’ Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Youtube
The Children’s Media Yearbook 2025 will be published in July. In this sneak-peak article, producer and CMF Deputy Director, Colin Ward faces up to the overwhelming challenges of media’s New World Order.
So, just to be clear, that Dr Strangelove reference in the title does not imply that the irresistible rise of YouTube is in any way equivalent to the development of the nuclear bomb. That would be very silly.
Yes, you could argue that YouTube represents an existential threat to traditional children’s linear platforms and the producers that create content for them. And yes, some of the stories we see in the press – such as YouTube’s Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative to promote a ‘unified vision for the development of high quality, age-appropriate content for young people’ – has just the faint echo of a Kubrickian dystopia, where saying something is true, makes it true. But that’s as far as it goes in terms of similarities between the rise of YouTube and a 1960’s film about a crazy alpha-male taking control of a weapon of mass destruction. After all, YouTube did ban Andrew Tate.
No. I chose that reference because Dr Strangelove was Kubrick’s response to events that seemed overwhelming. And the challenges children’s media creatives are facing can sometimes feel overwhelming. You have an idea for a show, but there is so little money out there it’s hard to see how you can develop or produce your idea. Sure, if it’s an idea for an animation for younger kids, then maybe your chances are a little better, although the competition is still fierce. Of course, if the animation style is very simple and there’s no dialogue, then ok, maybe we can schedule a meeting. And if you think you can use AI to cut your writing and animation team to the bone, then come on up to the front of the queue and we can talk about toy deals.
It’s not that it’s impossible to carve out a career in live action factual, entertainment and drama for children, it’s just that over the last few years it’s got an awful lot harder. And let’s be honest, it was never easy in the first place.
But the dark always comes before the dawn. Working together, we are going to find ways to adapt and survive. We have to. The audience needs people like us producing children’s media content, so we will keep fighting for what we believe in. And there is definitely light on the horizon. As it turns out, YouTube wants exactly the same thing; high quality, age-appropriate and entertaining content that helps children to grow and learn and feel part of a community. YouTube has publicly acknowledged its responsibilities to the audience, so now it’s up to us to talk to policy makers about how Ofcom, as the media regulator, can hold YouTube to its stated goals.
To understand how we might achieve that, it’s important to remember how we got to this place. So, here’s a quick history lesson – and feel free to skip ahead if you’ve heard this all before.
The commercial market for high-quality, UK-cultural kids’ media content was always fragile. ITV never made any money from children’s content and around 20 years ago things started to implode. Pretty soon the BBC, Sky and Five were, more or less, the only gigs in town, but they were all under financial pressure. As a result, producers became increasingly reliant on co-production finance to make budgets work, which meant a gradual move away from UK-cultural content towards either mid-Atlantic storytelling or stories selling a particular version of the UK; think Big Ben, Sherlock Holmes, posh kids and Guardsmen in bearskin hats.
About the same time, we saw the arrival of connected devices, which opened the door – or, possibly, the Pandora’s box – to let the global media giants into every waking moment of a child’s life. The video sharing platforms (VSPs), such as YouTube and TikTok, rode in on the crest of that wave.
So, that takes us back to that question; why should we learn to stop worrying and love YouTube? Well, maybe we can’t completely stop worrying, but here’s the thing that no one can or should ignore; kids love YouTube. And that’s why we need to learn to love it as well. A bit like when one of your kids brings home a noisy and excitable new friend, but you can tell that they’ve bonded over a shared love of games/pranks/make-up/rabbits (delete as applicable). So, you pivot, adapt and make them welcome.
Like most people, I love YouTube because it has fantastic content for everyone. You can find almost anything, whether that’s a clip from a show or some information you need. For me, YouTube offers… And let’s stop there for a moment. I’ve just been on my account to see what the algorithm was offering and lost 10 minutes watching Paul Whitehouse talking about David Bowie on the Graham Norton Show; a perfect intersection of three of my favourite things!
And there is the dilemma in a nutshell; The Graham Norton Show is funded out of the BBC licence fee. Most children’s producers would say that YouTube is happy to give the audience access to the content they love, provided the platform doesn’t have to pay the going rate for producing that content. Their argument is that YouTube wants the cake for free and it will eat every crumb until there is nothing left. Of course, YouTube would argue they are just a platform offering creators the opportunity to share their content with the audience.
The problem is that it’s not just a platform; it is now the platform. YouTube dominates children’s media experiences. It offers them exactly what they want; everything, everywhere, all at once and for free! Yes, there’s an important debate to be had around whether or not that is a good thing. The government might still decide to limit children’s access to media content; those proposals to restrict smart phones to over 16s haven’t gone away. But the reality is that YouTube has got the eyeballs, because they give kids total control over their media experiences. Children can usually find what they want to watch, and when they are tired of it, they can switch, instantaneously, to something new.
So where does traditional linear TV fit into that world? Well, a lot of people would argue that it doesn’t. If you want to grab attention for your podcast or Linked-In post then just announce that TV is dead. From that standpoint, the most recent ‘appointment to view’ content – such as Gladiators and Love Island – are just the final twitches of a massive beast breathing its last. But if that’s true, it is describing the end of a type of delivery platform; it does not necessarily signal the end of TV-style media content. The real problem we face is, how do we replace the TV funding model?
To be provocative, does it matter if CBBC disappears? Or even CBeebies? What matters is the content. Children who are growing up now are entitled to the same range of culturally relevant, trusted and life-affirming content that was made available to previous generations, in a form and on platforms that reflect the way children and young people live today. The kicker is, how do we ensure that this content will be funded and how can we make sure audiences will find that content. And that is what we will be discussing at the Children’s Media Conference and at the second Children’s Media Summit in the autumn.
There is light on the horizon. The government understands there is a problem and they understand that children’s media experiences have a far-reaching impact on their development. Yes, politicians are reluctant to intervene in the market, but they may be ready to offer some form of support, if we can present practical suggestions for a new children’s media ecology that works for everyone; platforms, legacy media producers and YouTube content creators. Although, above all else, the urgent requirement is that we come up with a way of creating and sharing children’s media content that works for the audience.
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