CBBC facts for kids
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Sixth logo used since 15 March 2023
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| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom Isle of Man Channel Islands |
| Network | BBC One (until 2012) BBC Two (until 2013 and then later revived in 2017 and 2022) BBC Alba (in Scottish Gaelic only) |
| Headquarters | MediaCityUK, Salford, England |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i/1080p HDTV (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BBC |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 9 September 1985 (block, as Children's BBC) 11 February 2002 (own channel) |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 201 (SD) Channel 203 (HD) |
| Streaming media | |
| BBC iPlayer | Watch live (UK only) |
| Virgin TV Anywhere | Watch live (Ireland only) |
| UPC TV | Watch live (Switzerland only) |
CBBC is a TV channel from the BBC in the UK. It's free to watch and made just for kids! It's also the name for all BBC shows and content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister channel, CBeebies, is for younger kids, aged 6 and under. CBBC broadcasts every day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. It shares its broadcast time with BBC Three.
Contents
About CBBC: A Look Back
The CBBC channel started on 11 February 2002. Its sister channel, CBeebies, launched on the same day. The name CBBC is short for Children's BBC. This name was used since 1997 for all kids' shows on BBC One and BBC Two. Even after the daily shows stopped on those channels in 2012, the CBBC name was still used.
Before the CBBC channel began, there were CBBC shows on other TV services. From 1996 to 1999, you could watch CBBC on Nickelodeon. There was also CBBC Choice on BBC Choice from 1998 to 1999, which had special shows. Later, from 1999 to 2002, it showed repeats as CBBC on Choice.
CBBC has won awards too! It was named "Channel of the Year" at the Children's BAFTA awards in 2008, 2012, and 2015. Around 300,000 people watch the channel every day.
The channel broadcasts from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, seven days a week. When it first launched, it shared time with BBC Choice. From 9 February 2003, it started sharing time with BBC Three. On 22 August 2008, it was announced that you could watch CBBC live on its website. This started on 16 September 2008. CBBC also became available on Sky in Ireland on 12 May 2011. The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) has shown CBBC and CBeebies since 1 April 2013.
From 16 April 2016, CBBC's broadcast hours were longer, until 9:00 pm. This was because BBC Three stopped being a regular TV channel for a while. The extra hours were used for shows for teenagers. On 2 March 2021, the BBC announced that CBBC's hours would go back to being shorter. Since 5 January 2022, the channel closes at 7:00 pm again. It now shares time with BBC Three, just like it did when it first started.
On 15 March 2023, CBBC updated its on-screen look and logo. This new look matches the BBC's main logo from 2021. The channel stopped using its 2016 logo, which had been around for seven years.
Future of the Channel
On 26 May 2022, the BBC shared plans for CBBC to eventually stop being a regular TV channel. This was part of a plan to make the BBC more "digital-first." The idea was for CBBC to become mainly a place for shows on BBC iPlayer. However, in December 2024, it was confirmed that the channel would not close yet. Patricia Hildago, who leads BBC Children's and Education, said that if children still need the channel, they will keep it on air.
How CBBC is Managed
CBBC is run by the BBC Children's and Education department. This department also manages CBeebies. BBC Children's used to be in London. But in September 2011, it moved to MediaCityUK in Salford. The live parts of the shows you see throughout the day are now recorded and broadcast from there.
Popular Shows on CBBC
CBBC aims to provide many different high-quality shows for 6 to 12-year-olds. This includes dramas, entertainment, comedy, cartoons, news, and factual programmes. Most of these shows are made in the UK. CBBC wants to be a fun, creative, and safe place for kids to learn. It especially focuses on informal learning and getting kids involved.
CBBC's shows are very similar to the ones that used to be on BBC One. CBBC often shows these programmes earlier than other channels. It also shows repeats or entire series in one day. Plus, it has its own special shows.
CBBC used to have short skits and games between programmes, except for Newsround. These were filmed in their special studio called "CBBC HQ." They often talked about BBC iPlayer and how viewers could get involved.
Most Watched Programmes
Here are some of the most watched shows on CBBC:
| Rank | Series | Episode | Date | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (Part 2)" | 3 October 2009 | 1,090,000 |
| 2 | "Lost in Time (Part 1)" | 8 November 2010 | 1,000,000 | |
| 3 | "Death of the Doctor (Part 2)" | 26 October 2010 | 960,000 | |
| 4 | "Death of the Doctor (Part 1)" | 25 October 2010 | 920,000 | |
| 5 | My Mum Tracy Beaker | "The Person I Most Admire" | 12 February 2021 | 883,000 |
| 6 | Tracy Beaker Returns | "Shadows" | 13 January 2012 | 875,000 |
| 7 | "Slow Burn" | 6 January 2012 | 856,000 | |
| "Big Brother" | 20 January 2012 | 856,000 | ||
| 9 | My Sarah Jane | "A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen" | 23 April 2011 | 830,000 |
| 10 | Tracy Beaker Returns | "Full Circle" | 8 January 2010 | 826,000 |
Educational Shows
CBBC used to show 1,000 hours of factual and school programmes each year. They did this with "Class TV." This block aired educational shows for two hours every weekday morning. Most of these were older BBC Schools programmes. "Class TV" ended in March 2008. However, in December 2019, CBBC brought back "Class TV" with "Live Lessons." These were presented by the CBBC team on weekday mornings.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools closed, CBBC broadcast educational shows for primary school children. This included new and old programmes. The goal was to help children learn, especially those who couldn't easily access online lessons.
How CBBC Looks and Sounds
CBBC's look has often been similar to its shows on BBC One. The logo stayed the same for a long time until 2016. It started with green blobs, then a green and white logo from 2007 to 2016. The logo used from 2016 to 2023 was multicoloured. The current logo, from 2023, is green again.
CBBC has mostly used presenters from the main BBC children's service. Some presenters, like Gemma Hunt and Anne Foy, appeared mostly on the new channel until August 2007. From September 2007, the same presenters for the CBBC channel also appeared on CBBC shows on BBC One and Two.
When CBBC launched, its presentation was filmed in a studio at BBC Television Centre. This studio was shared with the show Xchange. Over the years, the studio moved to different locations within Television Centre. In December 2006, they tried using a green screen set with only one presenter. This lasted until the 2007 relaunch, which brought a new "office" set.
In 2011, CBBC moved to Dock10 studios in MediaCityUK. The "Office" set was used there from September 2011 to December 2023. This set was updated several times, including in 2015, 2016, and 2023. The 2016 update renamed it "CBBC HQ."
CBBC moved out of its HQ5 studio in December 2023. As of April 2025, there isn't a dedicated CBBC studio. The channel has returned to using a green screen, like it did in 2007.
Other CBBC Services
CBBC Extra
CBBC Extra was a free interactive service from CBBC. You could access it using the BBC Red Button. You could press red on CBBC or go to page 570 from any BBC channel. It offered different features depending on your TV service. For example, Sky viewers could watch a video loop.
Brendan Sheppard helped make CBBC Extra very successful. He gave it a new look and added features like "Ask Aaron." There was also a Doctor Who special. CBBC Extra offered things like Newsround, horoscopes, blogs, jokes, and other interactive elements.
From 2013 to 2016, CBBC Extra was also available on the CBBC website. The service stopped in May 2016.
CBBC Online
The CBBC website has many activities for kids aged 6 to 12. You can find games, videos, puzzles, and printable pages. It also has message boards and updated news. There are special sections for Newsround and MOTD Kickabout. You can also use CBBC on BBC iPlayer to watch shows for up to thirty days.
CBBC HD
CBBC HD launched on 10 December 2013. This is a high-definition version of the channel. CBBC HD shares its broadcast space with BBC Three HD because they air at different times. Before CBBC HD launched, most CBBC HD shows were on BBC HD. CBBC HD was added to Sky in Ireland in 2017.
From July to August 2014, CBBC HD was temporarily removed from Freeview. This allowed BBC Three and BBC Three HD to broadcast 24 hours a day during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Since January 2022, on weekends, CBBC HD on Freeview in Wales closes at 2 pm. This is to make space for S4C HD.
CBBC Alba
In September 2018, a two-hour children's block on BBC Alba was split. It became CBeebies Alba and CBBC Alba. CBeebies Alba aired first, followed by CBBC Alba. This block has its own presenters and shows, all spoken in Scottish Gaelic.
CBBC Around the World
Australia
On 15 March 2021, an Australian channel called "BBC Kids" launched. It is similar to CBBC and shows children's programmes from the BBC Studios collection. On 31 October 2024, it was removed from Fetch TV, along with CBeebies.
United States
On 11 January 2022, an American version of BBC Kids launched on Pluto TV. This version also shows children's programmes from BBC Studios. It includes shows for younger kids from CBeebies. A Spanish version, "Niños por BBC," also launched on the same day.
Former logos
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This logo was used from October 1997 until the new TV channels launched in 2002.
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When the CBBC channel launched on 11 February 2002, it introduced this new logo. It had a green bug shape with a purple "C."
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A 3D version of the "bug" logo was introduced on 30 September 2005.
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A new look was introduced from 3 September 2007 to 13 March 2016.
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This logo, showing all the letters of the channel's name in one "C," was used from 14 March 2016 to 14 March 2023.
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This logo is the 2022 version of the 2016 logo. It included the 2021 BBC logo, but the main logo didn't fully change until 2023.
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See also
- BBC Children's and Education – The BBC's department for children's content, which includes CBBC.
- CBeebies – The BBC's TV channel for children under 6, and a sister channel to CBBC.
- CBBC idents – The short animations and sounds used by the channel.
- BBC Three – The BBC's TV channel for viewers aged 16–34.
