BBC Studios brings Creator Lab to Australia, betting on YouTubers ready for the next step

BBC Studios has launched Creator Lab Australia, a development program that will take a selection of the country’s established YouTube creators through masterclasses, mentoring and the chance to build ideas around IP from BBC Studios’ global catalogue and titles owned by SBS.

The program is delivered by BBC Studios with Changer Studios and BBC Studios TalentWorks and supported by SBS. It offers creators who have already built a following a route towards larger series and formats, with the studios behind them.

The program is an Australian version of a Creator Lab that BBC Studios first ran in the United Kingdom in 2023, initially in collaboration with TikTok. Its casting call describes the local edition as “an Australia first development opportunity” for creators with an engaged audience and ideas ready to grow.

The news comes as broadcasters and studios around the world are increasingly courting the people who have already done the hard part, building communities and keeping audiences coming back, rather than trying to manufacture that loyalty from scratch. Creator Lab is BBC Studios’ attempt to formalise the pipeline in a market where it already has deep roots.

Much of the BBC’s local unscripted schedule shows this. BBC Studios has adapted a long list of formats for Australian audiences, among them Mastermind Australia, The Great Australian Bake Off, The 1% Club Australia and Ghosts Australia, while Return to Paradise is an Australian spin-off of the Death in Paradise franchise. Globally, the company sits behind brands from Top Gear to Dancing with the Stars, and it turned the Australian-made Bluey into one of the most-watched children’s properties in the world.

The Creator Lab program is split into two parts. Selected creators begin with a two-day Sprint masterclass in Sydney, currently set for September 21 and 22, covering audience development, content strategy, format creation and long-form storytelling, with sessions run alongside YouTube, SBS commissioning editors and BBC Studios’ unscripted and scripted teams. A smaller group then progresses to The Accelerator, an eight-week hybrid program across October and November built around one-on-one mentoring and workshops on audience engagement, multi-platform growth and building globally relevant IP.

Part of the pitch is access to material creators could not otherwise reach, with the chance to develop ideas using selected IP from BBC Studios’ catalogue, including titles from Werner Film Productions, and SBS-owned properties.

BBC Studios Australia Productions Executive Vice President and Creative Director Kylie Washington said the initiative was about investing in the local creator economy, framing it as a bridge between audience connection and long-term growth. While SBS Head of Unscripted Joseph Maxwell said it will open new platforms and pathways for a new generation of Australian storytellers.

BBC Studios has signalled the ambition runs past a single intake, with plans for an ongoing creator network and links into its global creator partnerships and commissioning work. For creators who have spent years proving they can hold an audience, it’s a great opportunity to see what can change when a major studio helps support their growth to the next stage.

Applications are open to creators aged 18 and over who are based in Australia with the right to work, and who have either more than 50,000 YouTube followers or at least two videos that have each passed 100,000 views. They close on Sunday, September 6 at 11.59pm AEST. Visit this website to apply.