Ofcom: ‘Early signs’ BBC engagement with younger audiences is improving

A growing presence on YouTube has boosted the BBC’s engagement with younger audiences

There are “early signs” that the BBC’s engagement with younger audiences is improving, according to UK media regulator Ofcom, in part due to its growing presence on YouTube.

The assessment was made as part of Ofcom’s annual report on pubcaster’s performance during the period April 2024 to March 2025.

Drawing on extensive audience research, industry data and stakeholder information, the report provides an evidence base which the UK government can draw on as it undertakes its Charter review.

The BBC’s charter is set to expire in 2027, with the government currently reviewing how the pubcaster should be funded to ensure all aspects of the BBC’s internal governance.

Many aspects of the report will be pleasant reading for BBC top brass, including the finding that the BBC remains popular with audiences, with 83% of UK adults using its services weekly in 2024/25.

Against a backdrop of funding pressures and a rapidly changing media landscape, the report states the BBC has also achieved strong levels of overall audience satisfaction (60% in 2024/25).

Meanwhile, the early signs that engagement with younger audiences is improving is demonstrated by overall BBC viewing (on-demand, plus live and recorded viewing) increasing for both children and young adults this year.

The BBC also increased its share of all broadcaster viewing from 29% to 34% among 16-24-year-olds, with 2024 a particularly strong year for sport.

The BBC’s move to reach children where they are on platforms such as YouTube has also led to an increase in viewing of BBC content.The BBC’s chief content officer, Kate Phillips, recently suggested this strategy may soon be broadened to include content for older audiences, as well as children, on YouTube.

Having seen its commercial arm use YouTube to exponentially grow the reach of brands such as Bluey, BBC Children’s has begun uploading full episodes of shows to the CBeebies YouTube channel as a way to funnel preschoolers and parents to iPlayer.

More recently, in a development that will be covered in next year’s annual report, the BBC partnered with TikTok to promote The Celebrity Traitors, a strategy designed to engage younger audiences and drive awareness of the show on BBC iPlayer

Elsewhere, Ofcom said maintaining audience trust in news is more important than ever. Its audience research shows that the BBC has remained the most popular source of news during the current Charter period, since 2017.

Ofcom’s most recent figures from May 2025 showed that 70% of regular BBC TV news viewers rated the BBC highly for accuracy, with a similar proportion for trust (68%).

However, this may have taken a knock in recent weeks following the fallout over the controversial edit of a Donald Trump speech in a BBC documentary, which led to the resignations of BBC director-general Tim Davie and chief executive of news Deborah Turness.

Following the crisis, Ofcom has reaffirmed its guidance that the BBC board and executive team must take a “firmer grip and act swiftly and transparently when controversies or failures arise.”

The report, available to read in full here, also recommends the BBC “play to its strengths,” while continuing to address areas where it needs to further improve, including by:

• Deepening its engagement with less satisfied audiences, including those on lower incomes.

• Innovating and taking risks to excite and engage, making content available where people want to watch it, such as on third party platforms.

• Building on the successes of its ‘Across the UK’ strategy to deliver a range of content made in and made for the diverse communities of the UK’s nations and regions, while supporting their creative economies.

• Investing in media literacy to help audiences to critically engage with news and online services.

Ofcom said it will be discussing its report with the UK government as part of its Charter Review.

“This will also include how the regulatory framework can be updated to provide the BBC with the flexibility to deliver across traditional linear services and online – while still being robustly held to account,” Ofcom said.