YouTube witnessing big leap in Saudi uploads

Video sharing is becoming extremely popular in the Kingdom, and uploads on YouTube have grown 260 percent year-on-year on the site’s Saudi specific edition, claimed a senior director of the website. There are 13 million Saudis using the Internet and a new trend is expanding where they are expressing themselves by uploading videos, according to Patrick Walker, YouTube’s senior director for content partnerships in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “YouTube has been available in its English language version for many years, and this region is one of the fastest growing regions in this field. In addition, as we have been building a lot of audience and enthusiasm in this market, we launched the Arabic language version sometime ago, and last year we introduced a version that is specific for Saudi Arabia. We have seen a 260 percent year-on-year increase in uploads and views, whereas the average internationally is 50 percent,” he said. He added the MENA region is one of the fastest growing in the world and the Kingdom is one of the fastest growing countries. There are 4 billion views a day in the region, while the Kingdom accounts for 100 million of those, Walker indicated. “When Google acquired YouTube five or six years ago, which is when I joined the company, the number of viewers worldwide were 100 million a day,” said Walker. In his opinion, the reasons for this enormous boost included Internet connections becoming faster, allowing people to consume videos much more easily. Viewing YouTube clips is more easily accessible on mobile phones, computers and laptops. “We experience a 300 percent increase year-on-year in our mobile views on YouTube worldwide. The mobile platform is one of the fastest growing markets, and in Saudi Arabia, where there is a fast mobile connection and many young people carrying handsets, this will lead to a big increase.” As for filming, Walker added, there has been a big boost in uploads; this comes down to inexpensive technology for filming and using those devices as a quick means to upload video content. “There has been always a desire for people to share and to consume, and the technology has allowed it to happen more effectively, easily and cheaply, and the numbers reflect that change in technology,” said Walker, adding people also have a passion for content in their own country and worldwide and YouTube opened up access to content that was otherwise not available in this market in any language people wish. “There are deep detailed videos on any subject that might be of any interest to you, whether how to cook a lamb or fix a tire; on education or entertainment. We have over 30,000 people who joined our partners program around the world. The program allows not only viewers to have an uploading account, but someone to become a creator, which opens the door for commercial relationships,” said Walker, pointing out there are commercial relationships in the Saudi market with some of the famous local YouTube shows. YouTube, according to Walker, does not pay advertising revenue for videos from Saudi uploaders, but this will be considered in the future. “If our Saudi partners have views outside the Kingdom in any of the 43 countries we have launched with monetization, then they will earn advertising revenue through our global audience,” revealed Walker, adding when someone uploads a video he obtains access to data that will point out where his audience is. “A lot of talent that comes from the Kingdom has a global reach and potential to earn revenue, as there are more than 300 million Arabic speakers around the world, and they are hungry for content from their home countries. The nostalgia and the curiosity also play a part.” Homepage ads on YouTube will be introduced in the near future, according to Walker, which is a first step to allow advertisers who want to reach big audience to develop a presence on the site. “The law regarding YouTube over the past few years and the confidence in it has been a major impetus to reach audiences effectively. We have 98 of the top 100 advertisers on YouTube,” said Walker, indicating that they are now opening their door to advertisers from Saudi Arabia to reach local audiences. The next phase for YouTube, Walker revealed, will be to introduce features to the videos themselves, such as ads that can be skipped and preload ads. “It is important to us not only to introduce the local language and version but also monetization, because people rely on it as a part of their business. The music industry, for example, is working closely with us to find new revenue in a world where physical sales are declining,” said Walker, pointing out they will make sure to support the industry’s efforts as soon as a new team is in place. Regarding the new privacy terms Google had announced recently, Walker clarified there were no concerns expressed by users, but the press rose some questions. “From our perspective, it was only bringing together our terms that we had for many products into one core set of terms for Google services, which we think simplified things for the user,” said Walker, adding that they listen carefully to and are constantly working with governmental bodies regarding privacy. “YouTube has its own community guidelines, which are very clear and published on the website, regarding uploaded material,” said Walker, adding that if anything seems to breach those rules, there is a flagging system. Walker delivered a session on the shift to digital programming, highlighting how YouTube is home to the content creators of the future at Google’s Event Arabia 2012. Google Day, held in association with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) on Tuesday in Riyadh, gathered more than 120 top executives and government officials from the Kingdom to highlight how the Internet has become a key economic, social and cultural net contributor to nations in the region.