CBBC

About CBBC

CBBC — short for Children's BBC — is the BBC's dedicated television channel for children aged six to twelve, and one of the most recognisable brands in British children's media. As both a broadcast channel and the umbrella brand for all BBC content aimed at older children, CBBC has entertained and educated generations of young viewers, from its origins as a programming strand in the 1980s to its launch as a full channel in 2002. Based at MediaCityUK in Salford, it is owned and operated by the BBC, funded by the licence fee, and broadcasts free-to-air every day.

The channel is the big sibling of CBeebies, which serves children aged six and under, and together the two form the BBC's children's television offering. CBBC's schedule blends home-grown drama, comedy, factual entertainment, news and live presentation, with a strong emphasis on original British commissions. It has won the Children's BAFTA for Channel of the Year on multiple occasions and remains a defining part of childhood for millions of Britons.

History and Launch

The BBC has produced television programmes for children since the 1930s, but the CBBC story begins in the modern era. On 9 September 1985, the BBC launched Children's BBC as a dedicated programming block on BBC One, presented from the famous "Broom Cupboard" continuity studio by presenters including Phillip Schofield. The strand gave children's programming a distinct identity for the first time, with its own presenters, idents and branding. In 1997, the branding was shortened to CBBC, the name by which it has been known ever since.

The next major step came with the digital television revolution. On 11 February 2002, CBBC launched as a dedicated channel, alongside its new sister service CBeebies for younger children. The launch was part of a major expansion of the BBC's digital portfolio and gave the CBBC brand its own full-time home for the first time. Before the dedicated channels, CBBC strands had also appeared on other platforms, including CBBC on Nickelodeon between 1996 and 1999 and CBBC on Choice on the BBC Choice channel.

From its launch until 8 February 2003, the channel timeshared with BBC Choice; from 9 February 2003 it timeshared with BBC Three following the closure of BBC Choice. Between 11 April 2016 and 4 January 2022, CBBC's broadcast hours were extended to 9pm to make use of the capacity freed by BBC Three's move to an online-only service, with the additional hours used for programming aimed at teenagers. When BBC Three returned as a linear channel in 2022, CBBC reverted to its 7am-to-7pm schedule, timesharing with BBC Three once again. In March 2023, the channel rebranded its on-screen identity to match the BBC's 2021 corporate logo.

Ownership and Funding

CBBC is owned and operated by the BBC, the UK's public-service broadcaster. Like all of the BBC's domestic services, it is funded by the television licence fee and carries no commercial advertising. This funding model is central to the channel's identity: it allows CBBC to commission programming with educational and public-service value that might not survive on purely commercial terms, and to serve its young audience without commercial pressures.

The channel's headquarters are at MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester, where the BBC's children's department is based. The move of children's production to Salford was part of the BBC's wider relocation of departments outside London. CBBC operates under the BBC's children's and education division, and its commissioning is guided by the BBC's public purposes, including promoting education and learning among young audiences.

Programming and Flagship Shows

CBBC's schedule is built around original British drama, comedy and factual entertainment, much of it commissioned specifically for the channel. Among its most celebrated dramas is The Story of Tracy Beaker and its spin-offs, including Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground, adapted from Jacqueline Wilson's beloved books. The channel has also aired Hetty Feather, another Wilson adaptation, and Wolfblood, the BAFTA-winning fantasy drama about teenage wolfbloods that became one of CBBC's biggest international successes.

In comedy, CBBC has produced enduring hits including The 4 O'Clock Club, the school-based musical comedy-drama; So Awkward, the sitcom about teenage friendship; Dani's House and its successor Dani's Castle, starring Dani Harmer; The Slammer, the children's talent show set in a prison; and Horrible Histories, the anarchic sketch show that brought history to life for a generation and won widespread critical acclaim. M.I. High, the spy drama about schoolchildren working for MI9, ran for seven series, while The Sparticle Mystery offered post-apocalyptic adventure for younger viewers.

Factual entertainment is another pillar of the schedule. Operation Ouch!, presented by twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken, has demystified medicine for young audiences since 2012. Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's television programme, has been a cornerstone of the BBC's children's output since 1958 and airs on CBBC. The Dengineers, which builds dream dens for deserving children, and the long-running Art Ninja, fronted by Ricky Martin, showcase the channel's creative and craft programming. Newsround, the BBC's news programme for children, has provided age-appropriate news coverage since 1972 and remains a vital part of the CBBC schedule.

The channel also acquires international programming, most notably the Canadian dance drama The Next Step, and airs repeats of classic BBC children's series. Live presentation, with presenters linking programmes throughout the day, remains a distinctive feature of the channel's identity.

News and Current Affairs

Newsround is CBBC's flagship news service and one of the most important programmes on the channel. Launched in 1972 as the first television news programme specifically made for children, Newsround explains the day's events in clear, age-appropriate language, covering everything from UK politics to international affairs, science and sport. It has won numerous awards and is widely regarded as a model for children's news worldwide.

Beyond Newsround, CBBC carries special news programming around major events, including general elections, royal occasions and significant international stories. The channel's factual output, including documentaries and discussion programmes, encourages young viewers to engage with the world around them. During the BBC Three hiatus, when CBBC's hours extended into the evening, the channel also carried programming aimed at teenagers, reflecting its broader public-service role for young audiences.

Audience and Ratings

CBBC targets children aged six to twelve, a demographic that is notoriously difficult to measure and serve in the streaming era. The channel has historically performed strongly against its commercial rivals in the UK children's market. It was named Channel of the Year at the Children's BAFTA awards in 2008, 2012 and 2015, recognition of both its ratings performance and the quality of its programming.

The channel's reach extends well beyond linear viewing. CBBC content is heavily consumed on BBC iPlayer, where box sets of dramas such as The Dumping Ground, Wolfblood and The Worst Witch attract substantial on-demand audiences. The CBBC website, with its games, quizzes and programme information, has long been one of the most popular children's destinations on the British internet. Like all children's broadcasters, CBBC faces intense competition from global streaming platforms and video-sharing services, but its original British commissions and trusted brand continue to give it a distinctive position.

Broadcast and Streaming Availability

CBBC broadcasts free-to-air across the United Kingdom every day from 7am to 7pm, timesharing broadcast capacity with BBC Three. On Freeview it is available on channel 201 in standard definition and channel 203 in high definition. The channel is also carried on Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat, and streams live on BBC iPlayer for UK viewers.

The channel's reach has expanded internationally over the years: it became available on Sky in Ireland in May 2011, and the British Forces Broadcasting Service has carried CBBC for military families since April 2013. A Canadian version of the brand, BBC Kids, operated between 2001 and 2018. CBBC's programmes are also widely distributed internationally through BBC Studios, with dramas such as Wolfblood and The Worst Witch finding audiences around the world.

Cultural Impact

CBBC occupies a unique place in British cultural life. For millions of adults, the channel — and the Children's BBC strand before it — is woven into the fabric of childhood memory: the Broom Cupboard presenters, the birthday cards read out on air, the theme tunes of Tracy Beaker and The Story of Tracy Beaker, the anarchic energy of Horrible Histories. Blue Peter, though it began decades before the channel, remains synonymous with the CBBC brand and its values of creativity, adventure and good citizenship.

The channel's dramas have launched the careers of numerous actors and have tackled serious subjects — from life in the care system in The Dumping Ground to disability, diversity and mental health — with a frankness rarely seen in children's television elsewhere. Newsround's role in explaining difficult news events to children, from conflicts to the COVID-19 pandemic, has made it a trusted institution for parents as well as young viewers. In an era of globalised children's entertainment dominated by American platforms, CBBC remains one of the few places where British children can see their own lives, accents and stories reflected on screen.

Sister Channels

CBBC's closest sibling is CBeebies, the BBC's channel for children aged six and under, which launched on the same day in February 2002. The two channels share the BBC's children's department and Salford base, with CBeebies offering gentle, curriculum-linked programming for pre-schoolers while CBBC serves older children with drama, comedy and factual entertainment.

Beyond children's television, CBBC sits within the BBC's wider family of channels: BBC One and BBC Two, which historically carried the CBBC strand before the dedicated channel launched; BBC Three and BBC Four; BBC News; BBC Parliament; BBC Scotland; and BBC Alba. CBBC content also appears on the BBC's other platforms, and the brand extends across BBC iPlayer, the CBBC website and the BBC's educational output.

Recent Developments

In March 2023, CBBC refreshed its on-screen identity to align with the BBC's 2021 corporate branding, retiring the logo and idents introduced in 2016. The rebrand brought the channel visually into line with the rest of the BBC's television family while retaining its distinctive, playful character.

The channel's future has been the subject of significant strategic discussion. In May 2022, the BBC announced plans to close CBBC and BBC Four as linear broadcast channels in the coming years as part of a digital-first strategy, moving the brands to online-only services on iPlayer. The announcement reflected the reality that young audiences increasingly watch on demand rather than on linear television. The transition is planned to take place over several years, and the BBC has emphasised that investment in children's content will continue, with the CBBC brand living on as a digital-first destination.

Meanwhile, CBBC continues to commission new drama, comedy and factual programming, and its shows remain among the most-watched British children's programmes on iPlayer. Whether on linear television or on demand, the channel's mission — to inform, educate and entertain the UK's children with distinctive British programming — remains at the heart of the BBC's public-service offer.