And I must say how big a loss this is for British television.

For starters:

Not every household has "stable" broadband or mobile data access for streaming/watching stuff online—especially people who live in rural areas or people on low incomes.

The other platforms mentioned aren't 100% safe for kids (see the countless stories of kids getting hit with blood and gore videos that abuse the algorithms of YouTube or the Perfect Parent Brigade letting kids watch Squid Game and getting traumatised by the violence featured).

Plus it seems that every kids channel/platform aimed at kids these days is either something you have to pay for (like Netflix or Disney+) which, again, cost of living crisis, people might not necessarily be able to afford.

And not only that, but the ones that are free/available through terrestrial TV are often loaded with product placements and advertisements trying to get kids to buy (or nag their parents to buy) the Next Big Toy™.

CBBC doesn't have any of that. It's all 100% ad-free.

And not only that, but the programs that it does (and did) have are good for kids. Not just kid-friendly, but actually good for kids.

For example:

Newsround

It's news for kids, and quite popular with both kids and adults alike. It allows kids to learn about current affairs and learn about what's going on in the world now (and has done for 50 years) without dumbing it down too much or acting patronising.

Fact: It was through a Newsround bulletin that the news broke in the UK of the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th 2001.

And they've kept it up throughout Brexit, Covid, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and then some.

But at the same time, not forgetting that the news can be, as it often is, upsetting, and encouraging kids to talk about stuff in the news that upsets them and facilitating a lot of that.

Horrible Histories

🎵Gory, ghastly, mean and cruel; stuff they don't teach you at school!🎵

Teaching history to kids in a way that's fun and goes surprisingly in-depth for a kids' show. Even in earlier series it was brave enough to say (though not depict fully; remember it's a kid's show) that the British Empire was Not A Good Thing and that a lot of Britain's "greatness"—and the stuff it basically runs on like tea, sugar, etc.—was all derived from slavery and the products/goods of other countries around the world.

Plus I think everyone either knows the Charles the Second rap or the Kings & Queens song by now.

And CBBC took on the act of broadcasting a TONNE of educational content suitable for kids of all ages during the Covid-19 lockdown like Horrible Histories and Operation Ouch, which loads of parents, kids and teachers genuinely did find to be helpful.

The Story of Tracy Beaker/The Dumping Ground

This one holds a very special place in my heart.

It depicts children, living in foster care (in a children's home non-affectionately nicknamed "The Dumping Ground" by its residents) and being actual kids.

Yes, it does show them (or at least strongly implies) they came from bad backgrounds—like Tracy herself being a child of neglect, kids like Jackie or Justine having parents/carers that weren't fit to look after them, or kids like Crash coming from abusive backgrounds and toxic environments—but shows that they are tough and they survive and they go through all the stuff that other kids go through and going on to do great things in their lives.

Like Tracy (spoilers!) later being adopted by her foster mother Cam (who, in later seasons, comes out as Lesbian and marries another woman) and countless kids going into good homes with good foster parents/adoptive parents.

As far as I'm aware,

This is the ONLY show on British TV that depicts foster kids in such a positive light.

Opposed to the stereotype of "Baby ASBO" running drugs on an estate somewhere or getting into fights and being up to no good 24/7/365.

Plus even back when it started in the early 2000s, it was very diverse for a program, and still is—with main characters who have learning disabilities, main characters of colour, main characters with physical disabilities (played by actual disabled actors).

So yes:

CBBC is special.