Jan 16 (Reuters) - The BBC plans to produce programmes for Google's YouTube for the first time, the Financial Times reported on Friday, as the British broadcaster looks to generate more money at a time when many viewers are turning to streaming platforms.
The BBC will begin to make tailored shows for YouTube, which will subsequently be featured on the British broadcaster's iPlayer and Sounds platforms, the FT said, citing sources.
The deal could be announced as early as next week, the report added.
The BBC and Google did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
The BBC is currently funded by a licence fee paid by all television-watching households in Britain, which allows its British services, including everything on its iPlayer, to remain free of advertisements.
The FT said that the deal with YouTube, to be focused on younger audiences, will allow the BBC to generate more money by showing advertising when these programmes are shown outside Britain.
The agreement with YouTube is expected to cover the BBC's domestic public service arm and formalise existing ties with BBC Studios, its commercial division, the newspaper added.
A limited selection of older series may also be made available on YouTube, although this would not be the main focus of the deal, according to the FT.
The move comes as BBC battles its biggest crisis in decades after U.S. President Donald Trump sued it for at least $10 billion in damages over edited clips of a speech that made it appear he directed supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The affair led to the resignations of the BBC's two most senior bosses.
YouTube reached 51.9 million British viewers in December, narrowly surpassing the BBC's 50.8 million, according to Barb Audiences, the official measurement body for television and video metrics, highlighting the platform's growing dominance in reaching the country.
(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Thomas Derpinghaus)
