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The manager of the Sidemen on YouTube has warned that the BBC faces irrelevance with younger viewers unless it shifts drastically toward online creators. Are other traditional television broadcasters also under threat?
Jordan Schwarzenberger, manager of the extremely popular YouTubers ‘The Sidemen,’ has warned the BBC that it risks becoming ‘a Titanic’ if it doesn’t make significant changes to bring in Gen Z viewers.
For those unaware, the BBC charges everyone in the UK who watches live television a yearly fee upwards of £150. Known as the licence fee, this mandatory payment has become increasingly controversial amidst other entertainment options such as Netflix, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Just last year, a survey by Ofcom found that only 48% of young adults watch broadcast television, with that number steadily dwindling. As the cost of living continues to rise, Gen Z are struggling to understand where the value is in paying for the BBC, particularly as the broadcaster has largely failed to create engaging content that keeps them tuned in.
‘The way that consumption habits have shifted over the last five years is almost more drastic than it was in the previous fifty years,’ says Schwarzenberger. ‘You have a pre-TikTok and post-TikTok split in the way that consumption was felt and experienced by people.’
The Sidemen are the biggest online personalities in the UK. Made up of seven independent creators – including the musician and boxer KSI – this band of younger millennial YouTubers have amassed such a large following that they routinely sell out stadium charity football matches, have launched their own hugely successful clothing, food and alcohol brands, and were named some of the ‘richest gamers’ in the UK last year.
With universal appeal across both the UK and US, The Sidemen resonate far closer with Gen Z’s preferences for independent business and authenticity than any one institution could replicate, especially the BBC. As wide-reaching brands, YouTubers today are embracing the short-form, digital age landscape, often adapting quickly to new content platforms and avenues whenever they pop up.
For example, The Sidemen have five separate YouTube channels that cater to different formats, including one for reaction content and another solely for short-form video. They’re also reachable on Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and pretty much anywhere that you can think of that encourages Gen Z engagement. They even have their own Netflix series.
With most of this content being free, it isn’t hard to see why Gen Zers would look at the BBC and wonder why they’re forced to pay a subscription; the only programme that seems to be universally loved by younger folks in the UK is The Traitors, a game show all about deception.
It is perhaps the BBC’s only real, colossal hit that could come close to the kind of engagement that independent creators enjoy regularly on social media. Even then, the difference between established, older celebrities that have been involved in the show, such as Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross, and younger online stars like Niko Omilana is stark.
There is a clear gulf between those under the age of 30 and any older millennials and Gen Xers in terms of where they get their entertainment, which could spell trouble for broadcasters like the BBC in the future.
To be fair, it has dipped its toe into different online formats, launching its own audio app BBC Sounds and publishing more content onto YouTube and Instagram. The numbers suggest that it is the leading broadcaster in this regard. This isn’t really enough if it wants to stay in the race, mind.
In fact, the broadcaster has previously complained about children in the UK consuming more content from the US on YouTube, with worries that it may diminish our ties to local culture.
Perhaps the BBC should consider making more programmes that appeal to UK viewers in order to bring those audiences back? Complaining about the wider entertainment industry as a whole rather than looking inward won’t bring young people over to your side, and may sway them further toward larger corporations such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV.
There is an argument to be made that traditional broadcasters need to fundamentally change how they operate in order to keep up with a fast-paced digital landscape. The BBC is such a massive legacy institution that it is hard to implement new changes and philosophies without it taking years to enforce.
By then, Gen Z audiences may have moved on to a new platform, a fresh trend, or something else entirely.
We’re sure that there is a place for ITV, the BBC, and other broadcasters in the modern viewing world. They need to do more to justify their existence, however, before young people willingly cough up £170 a year in license fees.
See also:
- Why are Gen Z unsure about having children?
- Examining Gen Z’s nostalgic love of disposable cameras
- Are Gen Z social media apps sustainable long-term?
