MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has expanded its partnership with YouTube to launch two brand new original content channels.

Coming soon to YouTube will be a new nature channel, showcasing a feast of new films created by the commercially funded BBC Earth Productions, based in Bristol, the home of the BBC‘s Natural History Unit. Another topical science channel, produced in partnership with 360 Productions, will launch in early 2013 with James May and his crack team of scientists.

BBC Worldwide EVP & Managing Director Digital Daniel Heaf said, "BBC Worldwide is very excited about expanding our successful relationship with YouTube. Not only is it a place to distribute the best British content around the world it will, through our original content, be a place where we can experiment with new forms of creativity. We couldn‘t be more thrilled at the prospects this brings our company, indies and audiences alike."

In addition, BBC Worldwide will be launching a selection of long-form programming in the UK and Canada for the first time, including the first ever episodes of EastEnders, classic comedy The Likely Lads, a selection from the BBC‘s Shakespeare Collection and The Trials of Life and other dramas such as Campion and The Onedin Line.

A third strand of the deal sees BBC Worldwide renew its commitment to continue to add to its existing selection of over 8,000 clips, across its 6 bespoke redesigned channels. To date there are 1.7 million subscribers to these channels. The existing channels have all been re-branded, including the most popular BBC Worldwide channel. New clips launching today include Top Gear series 18, for the first time.

BBC Worldwide currently manages six channels on YouTube, with the most popular being BBC Worldwide, Top Gear and EastEnders. BBC Worldwide believes that this latest deal will support the ambition to drive subscribers and views through the combination of high quality originated content and unlocking more of the BBC‘s archive.