Creative skills 🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom Since 2019 4.9 · 1K ratings

BBC Maestro

Video courses taught by well-known authors, chefs, musicians and founders.

Visit bbcmaestro.com Try BBC Maestro free All companies
courses on the site, October 2026
48
video lessons, our count
1,204
on the App Store, US, 1,002 ratings
4.9
on Trustpilot, 48 reviews
4.3

About BBC Maestro

BBC Maestro is a London platform of video courses taught by well-known authors, chefs, musicians, business founders and wellness experts. Maestro Media Limited runs it under a licence from BBC Studios Distribution Ltd, and the BBC does not appear among its shareholders at Companies House. In October 2026 the site listed 48 courses in 7 categories, from writing with Julia Donaldson to bread making with Richard Bertinet. One course costs €99 for a year of access, and a membership with every course costs €129 a year on the Dutch site and £119.99 or $119.99 a year in the App Store. The first membership year has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

BBC Maestro sells pre-recorded video courses. Each course has a single teacher, PDF course notes and exercises, and most run 3 to 8 hours over 18 to 35 lessons. Teachers include Julia Donaldson, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Marco Pierre White, Mark Ronson, Gary Barlow, Steven Bartlett and Mo Gawdat.

Maestro Media Limited was incorporated in England in May 2019 by Michael Levine and Brian Klein. The platform opened in October 2020 with four courses, launched in partnership with BBC Studios, and each course then cost £80. The site footer says Maestro Media develops and operates the platform under licence from BBC Studios Distribution Ltd and uses the BBC trademark under licence.

In August 2022 BGF led a multi-million-pound round, with Downing Ventures also investing. The May 2026 confirmation statement lists BGF, Downing, Guinness VCT, Foresight Ventures VCT, Thames Ventures VCT and private investors as shareholders. The 2024 accounts show 39 staff on average and accumulated losses of £21.3 million, and the company does not publish revenue.

History

  1. 2019 Michael Levine and Brian Klein incorporate Maestro Media Limited in England on 15 May.
  2. 2020 BBC Maestro opens in October with courses by Gary Barlow, David Walliams, Marco Pierre White and Jed Mercurio, at £80 each.
  3. 2022 BGF leads a multi-million-pound round in August, and Downing Ventures invests again.
  4. 2023 The company moves its registered office to 14 New Wharf Road, London, in July.
  5. 2023 The iPhone app reaches the UK App Store in August and the US App Store in December.
  6. 2024 In October BBC Maestro announces courses by Eric Vetro, Trinny Woodall, Isabel Allende, Evy Poumpouras, Jo Malone and Ago Perrone.
  7. 2024 Accounts for 2024 show 39 staff on average and accumulated losses of £21.3 million.
  8. 2025 A writing course with Agatha Christie launches in May, with an actor whose face and voice were adjusted with AI.
  9. 2026 The company creates new share classes in February and issues new shares between February and April.
  10. 2026 Sarah Ledwidge joins the board in February. Robert Callow leaves the board on 30 September.

BBC Maestro funding and investors

£24.95 million paid in for shares by end of 2024
  1. August 2022
    Growth round multi-million-pound

    Lead: BGF Downing Ventures

    Source: Private Equity Wire
  2. February–April 2026
    New share classes and allotments Amount not disclosed

    Not named in the filings

    Source: Companies House

Called-up share capital of £86,815 plus share premium of £24,863,679 on 31 December 2024, from the accounts filed at Companies House. BBC Maestro does not publish the size of its rounds. More shares were issued in 2026.

Leadership

  • Michael Levine Director since May 2019, CEO in October 2024
  • Richard Lewis Director since June 2022
  • Matthew Joyce Director since September 2023
  • Sarah Ledwidge Director since February 2026

Directors from Companies House on 7 October 2026. Michael Levine and Brian Klein were the first shareholders and directors at incorporation in May 2019. Michael Levine is named CEO in the company’s October 2024 press release. Robert Callow, a director since 2019, left the board on 30 September 2026.

Careers

apply.workable.com/bbc-maestro
1London
2 open roles on 7 October 2026
  • Finance1
  • Legal1

How BBC Maestro courses work

course length, median 4.5 h
2–14 h
lessons per course
12–40
access to a single course
1 year
  • Pre-recorded video lessons
  • PDF course notes
  • Exercises
  • Shareable certificates
  • English subtitles
  • Offline downloads in the apps
  • AirPlay and Chromecast
  • One free lesson per course by email
  • Gift cards for a course or a year
  • Plans for teams

Course categories at BBC Maestro

Writing, 13 courses7

  • Julia Donaldson, picture books
  • Lee Child, popular fiction
  • Harlan Coben, thrillers
  • Ken Follett, bestselling fiction
  • Agatha Christie, crime writing
  • Carol Ann Duffy, poetry
  • Jed Mercurio, TV drama

Food and drink, 8 courses6

  • Marco Pierre White, two courses
  • Richard Bertinet, bread making
  • Vineet Bhatia, Indian cooking
  • Pierre Koffmann, French bistro cooking
  • Jancis Robinson, wine
  • Ago Perrone, mixology

Wellness and personal development7

  • Mo Gawdat, happiness
  • Oliver Burkeman, time management
  • Stephanie Romiszewski, sleep
  • James Nestor, breathing
  • Tim Spector, eating well
  • Owen O’Kane, anxiety
  • Evy Poumpouras, influence

Music, film and theatre, 9 courses6

  • Mark Ronson, music production
  • Gary Barlow, songwriting
  • Eric Vetro, singing
  • Edgar Wright, filmmaking
  • Brian Cox, acting
  • Sir Billy Connolly, comedy

Business, 7 courses5

  • Steven Bartlett, starting and scaling a business
  • Jo Malone, entrepreneurship
  • Trinny Woodall, business
  • Peter Jones, business toolkit
  • Richard Greene, public speaking

Art and design, 6 courses5

  • Paula Scher, graphic design
  • Jonathan Yeo, portrait painting
  • Rankin, photography
  • Beata Heuman, interior design
  • Simon Lycett, flowers

Counted by us from the bbcmaestro.com category pages on 7 October 2026. One course can sit in several categories. Wellness and lifestyle lists 11 courses and personal development 10. Kaffe Fassett (knitting, November 2026) and William Hanson (etiquette, December 2026) are announced as upcoming.

Products

  • Single course One course with video lessons, exercises, PDF notes and a certificate. Access lasts one year from purchase and does not renew. All courses
  • Membership One year of access to every course, including new releases during that year. Billed once a year, with no monthly option. Pricing
  • BBC Maestro for Business Memberships for teams of 10 to 1,000 people, from £24 per person a year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. For teams
  • Bitesize add-on Short insights on work, wellness and growth sent to Slack or Microsoft Teams, sold with business plans. For teams

How much is BBC Maestro?

  • One course €99/year €99 for one year, one course, access ends after a year
  • Membership €129/year €129 a year, every course, billed yearly, €10.75 a month
  • Membership, App Store UK £119.99/year £119.99 a year, All Access Annual Subscription
  • Membership, App Store US $119.99/year $119.99 a year, All Access Annual Subscription

Is BBC Maestro free?

No free trial. Each course page offers one free lesson by email, and the first membership year has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Discounts forStudents, 25% offDisability, 50% offNHS and public health staff, 25% offGroups of three or more

Web prices on bbcmaestro.com for a visitor in the Netherlands on 7 October 2026. The site picks the currency by country, so we could not see the UK or US web prices. App Store prices for the UK and the US come from the App Store pages on the same day. In October 2024 the company gave UK prices of £79 for a course and £120 a year for a subscription.

How to cancel BBC Maestro and get a refund

Refund rules in the help center
  • bbcmaestro.com ↗
    1. Sign in and open My Account
    2. Turn off auto-renewal
    3. Email support@bbcmaestro.com for a refund within the guarantee period
  • App Store ↗
    1. Open Settings on the iPhone and tap your name
    2. Tap Subscriptions
    3. Select BBC Maestro and cancel
  • Google Play ↗
    1. Open Google Play
    2. Go to Payments and subscriptions
    3. Select BBC Maestro and cancel
  • After cancelling, the membership runs to the end of the paid year.
  • Memberships renew every year at the same price unless the company gives notice of a change.
  • Memberships bought in the app are managed in the App Store or Google Play.
  • Deleting your account removes your courses and gives no refund.

Refund rules

Membership, first year
Full refund within 30 days of the start date.
Membership, renewals
Full refund within 14 days of the renewal payment.
Single course
Full refund within the 14-day cooling-off period if you have not started watching. The pricing table lists a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Gift cards
A redeemed gift card is not refunded. Gift cards last five years from purchase.

From the BBC Maestro help center and the terms of use version 1.2 of 15 October 2025, checked on 7 October 2026.

BBC Maestro for Business

BBC Maestro for Business
  • 01Teams of 10 to 1,000 people, larger orders through sales.
  • 02Team members can be added or removed, with no long-term contract.
  • 0330-day money-back guarantee.
  • 04Optional Bitesize insights in Slack or Microsoft Teams.

From £24 per person a year. The calculator showed £30 per person for 100 people, £3,000 a year..

Apps and ratings

4.3Trustpilot · Excellent 48 reviews · company profile claimed in October 2025

App details, App Store US

Current version
2.13.0, released 6 October 2026
First release on iOS
2 August 2023 in the UK, 11 December 2023 in the US
Requires
iOS 16.4 or later
Size
97.3 MB
Age rating
12+ in the US store
Seller
Maestro Media Limited
Downloads
10K+ on Google Play
Price
Free to download, yearly subscription inside

Is BBC Maestro worth it?

What users like

What users criticise

What users write in reviews, not our rating. Trustpilot says the company has not invited reviews recently. The bbcmaestro.com pages show a separate REVIEWS.io score of 4.7 from 8,303 reviews.

BBC Maestro reviews

  • Re the BBC Maestro Julia Donaldson course.
    “The lessons are delivered in a warm and friendly manner, and the exercises are well thought-out and accessible.”
    Ed Barrett · 17 June 2026 · App Store
  • Content is good but playback can be…
    “Lessons themselves are interesting and easy to follow, but the videos take too long to load sometimes.”
    Vanessa · 13 April 2026 · App Store
  • I purchased this course today and have…
    “It feels more like an extremely expensive podcast.”
    Eric F. · 3 October 2026 · App Store

Latest news

  1. Robert Callow leaves the board of Maestro Media Limited, Companies House
  2. Agatha Christie and AI in a new BBC writing course, eWeek
  3. BBC Maestro prepares for the holiday season with new courses, PR Newswire
  4. BGF leads growth funding round in BBC Maestro, Private Equity Wire
  5. BBC to launch e-learning service with courses from Jed Mercurio and Gary Barlow, Express & Star

Contacts and company data

Legal entity
Maestro Media Limited, 14 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RT, United Kingdom
Company number
11996244, England and Wales
Incorporated
15 May 2019
VAT number
GB 327931880
BBC brand
Licensed from BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Persons with significant control
None registrable since April 2023
Last accounts
Small company accounts to 31 December 2024

Alternatives to BBC Maestro

How we built this profile

  1. Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
  2. Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 7 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
  3. Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
  4. Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.

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BBC Maestro FAQ

On the Dutch site one course costs €99 for a year and a membership with every course €129 a year. In the App Store the yearly membership costs £119.99 in the UK and $119.99 in the US. Web prices change by country, and in October 2024 the company gave £79 a course and £120 a year in the UK.

No. Maestro Media Limited, a London company backed by BGF, Downing Ventures and other investors, runs it. It uses the BBC name under licence from BBC Studios Distribution Ltd, and the BBC is not among the shareholders listed at Companies House.

In October 2026 the site listed 48 courses. Teachers include Julia Donaldson, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Ken Follett, Marco Pierre White, Mark Ronson, Gary Barlow, Edgar Wright, Steven Bartlett, Mo Gawdat and Paula Scher.

On Trustpilot it scores 4.3 from 48 reviews, with 69% five stars and 21% one star. Positive reviews praise the teachers and the PDF notes. Negative ones are about access after payment, support replies and video playback.

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