David Farnor | On 05, Nov 2014

BBC Radio 1 is launching its own iPlayer channel on Monday 10th November.

The new service – which the Beeb highlighted during its recent redesign of iPlayer – was approved by the BBC Trust this week and will see up to two new videos released per day online. The content will include recordings of live sessions, artist interviews and ‘Best of’ DJ programmes, alongside Live Lounge and the occasional live-stream from events such as Big Weekend.

The move is designed to reverse a decline in younger listeners on the station. While Radio 1 attracts around 11 million listeners each week, its overall reach among those aged 15-29 fell 3 per cent between 2009/10 and 2013/14. At the same time, it has seen its online presence on YouTube soar. The Radio 1 channel now has 1.5 million subscribers worldwide (of which around 330,000 are in the UK) and over 350 million views, making it the most popular radio channel on YouTube.

The Radio 1 YouTube channel will continue alongside (and contain links to) Radio 1 in iPlayer content, which will be available to catch-up under the standard iPlayer 30-day window. A Radio 1 logo will be added to the sliding navigation bar, as well as included in genre listings and search results.

Ben Cooper, BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra Controller, says: “This is an exciting moment for Radio 1 and our young audience, and we can’t wait to get started on 10 November.”

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