The BBC is ploughing extra funds into children’s content as part of the battle against global media giants like Netflix and Amazon.
Director-General Tony Hall is announcing the biggest investment in children’s services in a generation.
An additional £34 million will be channelled into children’s funding across three years to 2019/20.
Outlining the BBC’s annual plan, Lord Hall will say that children’s is a vital area for the future of the BBC and that the broadcaster must take on new and developing technologies, such as virtual reality, voice activation and artificial intelligence.
As well as the BBC’s children’s channels, CBeebies and CBBC, the plan will fund more online offerings for children, in the fightback against the likes of YouTube and Facebook.
A BBC source said: “Investment in British content – particularly for the young – is vital, unless we want more of our culture shaped and defined by the rise of West Coast American companies.
“Not only that, we are exploring how new technologies can enhance how children and adults can access services and discover new content.”
The source added: “Tony Hall has set a clear challenge – to reinvent the BBC for a new generation. Creating a BBC uniquely tailored to each person is vital to that.
“The way children and young people are watching and consuming programmes and other content is changing fast, and the BBC needs to respond. This investment will mean we can reinvent how we serve our youngest audience in the years ahead, while continuing to produce outstanding programmes on CBeebies and CBBC.”
The plan, setting out the BBC’s ambition for the coming year, will also set out how the Corporation will respond to other challenges, such as fake news.
