£60m to help kids’ TV in UK compete with rivals from US

CHILDREN’S television will get a £60million investment from the Government amid concerns youngsters are watching US imports over British shows.

Over the past decade, the output of children’s TV from public service broadcasters has declined in the UK, with spending falling by £55million.

While British shows including Horrible Histories and Bear Grylls Survival School have enjoyed huge success in recent years, there are fears children are relying on repeats and more foreign programmes.

Popular shows from the US available in the UK include SpongeBob SquarePants on ‘Reliant on repeats’

Nickelodeon, and Dinosaur Train and Trollhunters on Netflix.

And while BBC channels CBeebies and CBBC and ITV’s CITV have an established following youngsters are increasingly watching American alternatives such as the Disney Channel and streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime.

The extra Government money is intended to help reverse the trend and increase the range of children’s programmes, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said last night.

While there is not a specific American show causing concern, the report states almost half of British children feel the content they watch does not reflect their lives.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘The BBC has been flying the flag for UK children’s programmes for years and we are proud to continue doing so.’