September 2026
Nostradamus Perspectives
By Hillevi Gustafson
YouTube, Public Broadcasters and the future of TV
A recent proposal from the UK government that wants major social video companies to increase prominence of public broadcasters has sparked pushback from both the platforms and individual content creators. This illuminates important questions regarding the role of public broadcasters on online platforms in a time when YouTube is increasingly the go-to destination for viewers on TVs around the world.
I think we can all agree that TV is no longer just TV. The most recent Nostradamus report discussed the conflation of traditional TV programming and social video content in the eyes of the watcher. “The dramatic 4% annual decline in average European TV viewership to just 3 hours and 15 minutes a day in 2024 might be less a change in behaviour than a click of the remote. Many consumers now include all broadcast, streaming, or social video consumed on a TV screen in "watching TV”.” It was widely reported last year that YouTube was second only to the BBC in terms of proportion of UK views and the platform hit the milestone of becoming the single largest streamer in the US back in February of this year. More and more people are tuning into YouTube not on their phones, tablets or computers but on their living room TVs.
The proposal from the UK government comes as part of a larger conversation about the future of public broadcasters in this new environment. Historically, in the UK, the services have received prominence in return for the public service they provide. The question is how this will look when viewers no longer engage with TV the same way as they used to. When TV simply does not mean what it used to mean. Public broadcasters are all struggling to capture the younger audience - the question is if this type of regulation will make them actually want to watch the content provided.
YouTube argues that being forced to feature certain government approved channels would break their commitment to offering users the best experience. David Wheeldon, senior director of government affairs and public policy for YouTube in Europe, told Deadline: “The UK’s creator economy is a global success story because of one simple idea: on YouTube, viewers decide what they want to watch. Videos become popular because they connect with their audience, not because we’re required to prioritise them". Meanwhile, creators are worried that this means that major TV shows will be pushed to YouTube users to the detriment of their content.
This discourse comes as there has been an increasing shift among public broadcasters towards seeing YouTube no longer as merely a marketing platform but a place to reach audiences with their content. Both the BBC and France Télévisions made deals with YouTube this year to release programming directly on the platform. However, the obscure algorithms are known for promoting content that is sensationalist, divisive and reactionary - things that the public service broadcasters are not meant to lean into. So if they cannot play the algorithm game, will the fact that their content is on these platforms alone be enough to capture the audience? The UK government does not seem to want to wait to find out.
It is not just the public broadcasters that are feeling the competition from YouTube. Politico reported in April that the CEO of TF1, France’s largest broadcaster, is pushing for the EU to place stronger regulations on the video-sharing platforms in order to “level the playing field”. The EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive is currently under review and the results are expected later this year so it will be interesting to see if any of this ends up impacting the legislation.
If you want to dig deeper:
This episode of The Rest is Entertainment, starting at 32.50.
YouTube - Friend or Enemy? The dilemma for broadcasters (EBU)
Why public media are turning to YouTube (Public Media Alliance)