The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has launched a new YouTube channel under its CBC Podcasts division to offer its audio series to listeners on the streaming platform.
Audiences can now stream a number of CBC podcasts in video form including investigative podcasts Someone Knows Something and Uncover, comedy podcast Let’s Not Be Kidding, memoir Run, Hide Repeat, news podcast Front Burner, and arts and entertainment podcast Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
At the moment, the podcasts don’t have any live video elements for the episodes, instead featuring dynamic artwork. However, CBC does plan to do more in this space in the future, with things like in-studio recordings and video trailers coming in the next months.
“The launch of CBC Podcasts on YouTube furthers a commitment to making our amazing catalogue of podcast content available to audiences on the platform of their choice,” said CBC executive vice president Barbara Williams. “CBC now has more than eight million subscribers to our video channels on YouTube and this new audio streaming partnership will expand the reach of our world-class slate of original podcasts, helping us connect with new audiences in Canada and around the globe.”
CBC has already seen success with video podcasting through daily arts podcast Q with Tom Power, which now has 240,000 subscribers on YouTube and popular interviews with guests such as Billie Eilish reaching nearly two million views.
This new move follows YouTube Music’s launch of podcasts within the app for Canadian users, which makes it easier for listeners to tune into podcasts in the background with their screens locked and to download episodes for offline listening.
“Podcasters have been leveraging YouTube’s reach for quite some time. In fact, a good portion of the more than one billion hours watched per day on YouTube is podcasting content from creators, artists, and others looking to share their unique perspectives,” said YouTube Canada strategic partner lead for news Stephanie Wilson Chapin. “We are very excited about partnering with CBC to continue the growth we’ve seen in this area over the last few years, and look forward to expanding our relationship with them in the future.”
