 "Photo courtesy: www.youtube.com")
Eight months after YouTube was re-opened in Pakistan, officials of the video streaming website launched a plan to monetise the medium along with an offline feature for Pakistanis.
YouTube made the two announcements at a press conference held at the DHA Golf Club, The Express Tribune reported.
"By making these popular videos available for temporary offline viewing, fans can connect more easily with their favourite content, while also helping bring more viewers to their videos," Tania Aidrus, head of business development in the Next Billion Users team at Google Asia Pacific, said.
"We hope to keep finding better ways to make video content more affordable and accessible in Pakistan," she added.
Once taken offline, the chosen video will be available for viewing for 48 hours without an internet connection. According to Aidrus, this will come in handy in areas with no Wi-Fi and no networks for data connection.
In addition to that, they also announced the launch of the YouTube Partner Program, which allows content creators in Pakistan to monetise their original works. The revenue generated will be split, with a majority share going to the creator. Moreover, YouTube provides video creators with resources and opportunity to improve their skills and build larger audiences.
"Since we launched YouTube in Pakistan earlier this year, we have seen amazing things from Pakistanis posting their videos," said Google Asia Pacific industry head Khurram Jamali.
"The breadth of their talent and creativity is already very impressive and we hope this programme will help bring even more talent onto this platform, to share with the whole world," Jamali added.
With reportedly 29 per cent of local population using the internet regularly, there is a huge market for YouTube to capitalise on.
