What the BBC’s YouTube Move Tells Us About Modern Web Strategy

When the BBC announced it would start putting programmes directly onto YouTube, it sparked the usual reaction.

Another sign that platforms are taking over.

Another nail in the website coffin.

Except that is not what is happening at all.

The BBC is not choosing YouTube instead of its own platforms, it is using YouTube to support them. And that distinction matters more than most people realise.

This Is Not About Abandoning Websites

The BBC has not suddenly fallen out of love with iPlayer or its own website. Those platforms are still where their content lives properly, with full context, control and brand authority.

YouTube, in this case, is not the destination. It’s the introduction.

It is a way to reach audiences who already spend their time scrolling, watching and discovering content elsewhere, then guide them towards deeper engagement on BBC owned platforms.

That is not a retreat from websites. It is a smart use of them.

Discovery Has Changed

There is no denying that the way people find content has shifted. Discovery now happens in feeds, recommendations and suggested videos rather than through deliberate searching.

But when people want to understand something properly, check credibility or take action, they still do the same thing they always have.

They go to a website. A website is where people expect clarity. It is where they slow down, explore properly and decide whether they trust what they are seeing. No platform has replaced that role, and none is likely to.

Why Websites Matter More in a Platform Led World

As content spreads across more platforms, websites become more important, not less.

They are the one place where brands control the message from start to finish. Where structure exists. Where journeys make sense. Where users are not one swipe away from being distracted by something else entirely.

Platforms are brilliant for reach, but they are borrowed space. Websites are owned. That ownership is becoming a serious advantage.

What Has the BBC Understood?

The BBC understands that visibility and authority are two different things.

YouTube delivers visibility. Its own platforms deliver trust.

By connecting the two, the BBC keeps control of its brand while still meeting audiences where they are. It’s not a compromise. It’s alignment.

This is the difference between having a digital presence and having a digital strategy.

What Does This Means for Businesses?

For businesses, the lesson is simple.

Chasing platforms without strengthening your website is a short-term play. Reach means very little if the place you send people to does not do its job.

A strong website turns attention into confidence. Confidence into action. And action into results.

That process has not changed. Only the entry point has.

Final Thoughts

At Chameleon, this shift is exactly why we put websites at the centre of everything we do.

Not as standalone projects, but as strategic hubs that connect content, campaigns and platforms into something that works.

The BBC moving content onto YouTube does not make websites less relevant. It proves how essential they are.

Because when attention is scattered and platforms keep changing the rules, the brands that succeed are the ones with websites strong enough to hold everything together.

And that is modern digital strategy done properly.