The Royal Channel on YouTube

In a manner reminiscent of many English sporting associations, the UK monarchy have launched The Royal Channel on YouTube, seemingly ignoring the other royalty families around the world wanting to do so. For those of you outside the UK, the various organisations such as The Football Association or The Amateur Rowing Association never seem to include the country.

Partly to mark the first televised Christmas Speech that took place 50 years ago, the channel is intended to show some of the history of the Queen and also connect directly to the people outside of the TV, a method of delivery that has seen declining audiences. Listening to the 1957 broadcast takes you back to a different world, one that was still affected by WW2, one where the Commonwealth was growing with countries moving towards independence as the empire faded. But many of the sentiments are still valid, leadership, working together are still relevant and perhaps more so now. The move into TV was seen as a necessary adaption in a rapidly changing world:

“I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct,” she said from her Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

“That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us.”

This year’s speech is going to go live on the site at the same time as the broadcast on the telly, letting people watch it in their chosen manner. For someone who sent their first email in 1976, they’ve taken time to move into the video world, but it’s a recognition of how you need to do many things with the content of a brand than just use mass broadcast media. It’s a further way of making the message more personal and direct in a world that’s changing far faster than could ever have been seen in 1957. They’re also making it available as a podcast, recognising there is more than just iTunes out there and giving you the link to subscribe with any client.