Standing up for children’s TV in the UK
By Di Redmond
13-08-2024
In an article written for the Children’s Media Yearbook, screenwriter Di Redmond urges the UK government to step up its support for the public service kids’ content sector.
The decline of children’s and young people’s TV is a loss that will be felt by children throughout the country, as well as the nation as a whole. The closure of popular children’s channel CITV, the removal of CBBC from terrestrial TV and the rapid take up of streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Max and Paramount with YouTube leading the way, marked the end of an era that began in the early post-war years when entertaining and educating children was seen by the government as a priority.
BBC children’s radio quickly moved into television introducing iconic TV favourites – Bill & Ben, Byker Grove, Andy Pandy, Magic Roundabout, Captain Pugwash, Postman Pat and Playschool. Regional television S4C, Granada, YTV, Anglia and Central also became reliable sources of funding for many new ground-breaking live-action and animated shows. An entire industry thrived, providing work for both in-house and freelance writers, animators, actors, voiceover artists, puppeteers and illustrators.
As the industry gathered momentum, Britain was exporting programmes worldwide and our status on the back of Balamory, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Postman Pat, Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank Engine, Teletubbies and so many more ground-breaking shows was second to none.

Peppa Pig has been a massive hit worldwide
Our programme output and subsequent sales (especially in merchandise goods for the under-fives) brought in huge international tie-ins and coproduction deals. Iconic producers and commissioners, such as Anne Woods, Cynthia Felgate, Theresa Plummer-Andrews and Anna Home, supported the creation of acclaimed series that were aired worldwide. Programmes were commissioned across the entire age range: from three years old to young teens.
The closure of children’s TV channels and the recent shuttering of the BFI’s Young Audience Content Fund has changed the landscape. Previously, the established process for pitching primetime TV content was to develop a show with engaging characters, the best storytelling, plus a celeb to front it, picture books that coincided with transmission, plus a tonne of merchandising. Such commissions for a 13, 26, or even 54-episode series are a thing of the past. Viewing habits, particularly among young people, have changed considerably.
So as the death knell for children’s TV plays out, the tragedy is that we still need this treasured art form more than ever before. So many organisations, investors, politicians, writers, artists and the public itself are voicing their sense of loss, disappointment and indignation. Public service broadcasters (PSBs) have a duty to produce quality content for children. In the case of the BBC, we pay money through our licence fee for the promotion of children’s TV. Where has that money gone? We’re still paying our licence fee to the government but there’s very little kids’ TV to show for it.
It was reassuring to hear former Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire speak in parliament on the demise of children’s public service content, flagging the dramatic changes in viewing habits, particularly in the area of over-sevens, where parents no longer control viewing as they do with under-fives. Good content “provides powerful information on role models, inspires ambition, encourages social inclusion and develops a child’s understanding of self and community.” Debonnaire regretted the long-term reduction in commissions for original UK content for children’s TV, that traditionally made a big contribution to our economy.

Fireman Sam: an example of classic British kids’ TV
Debbonaire’s not wrong! We can still remember when TV sales were global and our reputation as quality broadcasters was second to none. Pouring millions into the economy, children’s TV was respected and applauded. Jackie Cockle, who produced Bob the Builder, received a BAFTA for her long-running stop-frame animated series generated out of Manchester and Altrincham. This was a time when children weren’t sidelined; quite the opposite, they were big time. It was a golden age when kids had a voice that resonated.
Writing for under-fives is rich and vast, and the merchandise pay-off for broadcasters seeking tie-ins and coproductions is lucrative. Postman Pat socks and slippers, Thomas the Tank Engine biscuits, Bob’s safety helmet, Peppa Pig’s toothbrush, the list is endless. The industry in effect fed itself. As a result of our national reputation for good content, British broadcasters and their successes were on the global stage: Mipcom, Cartoon Forum, Kidscreen and the European Broadcasting Union. Serious money was invested in films and television series across all the channels and our reputation as creatives boomed.
So why did the star fall from the sky? The decline can be attributed to a lack of development funding and interest in commissioning, the increasing dominance of streaming and video sharing platforms and the subsequent change in viewing habits, particularly for young people. Technological and societal changes have profoundly changed the way that children and young people view content. TV viewing among four- to 15-year-olds has fallen by 62% in the last five years alone, as they increasingly use video sharing platforms and subscription streaming services to access their content.
This has undoubtedly been used as a justification to cut public service broadcasters’ children’s TV budgets. But a lack of funding for quality programmes will only accelerate this trend, as young people are presented with fewer alternatives to streaming, with damaging consequences.
According to Ofcom figures, first-run UK originated children’s programming on PSB channels like the BBC and ITV fell to an all-time low in 2022, down to 518 hours compared to 640 in 2019. Spending on original UK children’s content has also fallen from £114 million in 2013 to £80 million in 2022.
The now scrapped Young Audience Content Fund provided £44m in funding to the children’s TV sector. The fund, which was intended to help UK children’s TV compete on the global stage, covered up to 50% of the production costs. Its closure has had a highly damaging effect on the sector and combined with the UK’s exclusion from the EU’s Creative Europe scheme as a result of Brexit, means that development funding is no longer available on the levels it once was.
Instead of increased funding to support grassroots children’s TV content from the ground up, the government has instead opted for a system of tax credits to stimulate production. This is welcome but insufficient, particularly as tax credits will disproportionately benefit existing productions, often from overseas.
As my colleague on the board of Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, Helen Blakeman, says: “Whilst increased tax credits are a major boon for the children’s and creative sector, they’re not the sole solution. Until the industry works together to establish a multi-purpose plan, with the input and support from the multi-layered big-hitters of government, ‘broadcast’ media, subscription video on demand services and digital platforms, then the sector, the audience, and the writers will continue to suffer.”

The ground-breaking Teletubbies
Lack of funding is obvious, but worse than that is lack of interest – lack of care. Kids always get the worst deal. Whatever the genre, if anything has to go then it’s children first – hey, they’re little, they won’t notice and eventually they won’t even remember. Our children are so precious, so vulnerable and so brilliant. We owe them more than lip service; it is our duty and the government’s responsibility to give them quality programmes – that is their right.
This sentiment is echoed by Blakeman: “Children’s TV in the UK, however, is a bit like the NHS; it’s a national treasure and it helps to shape our society. Without it, we wouldn’t be the nation that we are. But times and viewing habits change. The golden age is behind us and now it’s up to the industry and the broadcasters to help shape the future of children’s viewing. It’s also vital that British children are able to see their lives reflected back on-screen in all its glorious diversity, and, crucially, that it’s free to access.”
The government must engage with the children’s TV sector and plan a credible path forward for this essential but endangered part of our cultural sector and national heritage. The restoration of desperately needed development funding would be an excellent starting point.
Failure isn’t an option. We owe it to our children to ensure that they have access to quality content that reflects their lived experiences. What does it say about our society if we are no longer able to provide this?
As Vicky Ireland, ambassador and trustee for Action for Children’s Arts says: “Children are citizens with rights. We have signed up to the 54 Articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including Article 31 that states: ‘Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.’ This includes their right and need to have their own media sector and access to quality public service content. We must find a way to make this happen. If we neglect and ignore the imagination and needs of our young, we restrict all our futures.”
This article was written for the Children’s Media Yearbook 2024, put together by the Children’s Media Foundation, and can be purchased here: https://www.thechildrensmediafoundation.org/the-childrens-media-yearbook-2024