Johannesburg - Internet giant Google on Monday announced the launch of its video service YouTube in South Africa. YouTube.co.za will enable country-specific services, including local caching of YouTube content.
Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube, said that internet video is growing with over two billion videos viewed every day on the Google service, the largest of its kind.
He added Google was excited about bringing a local version of YouTube to South Africans.
"We
look forward to continuing to improve the YouTube experience for our South
African users," said Hurley.
Google said
it has formed partnerships with local media companies, including the SABC and
eTV, that will use the service to distribute content online. The SABC confirmed it is piloting the use of YouTube for uploading both old and current
television shows.
Hurley said
with over 70% of YouTube traffic coming from outside the USA, it is important to localise the service for specific countries. South Africa is the first
African country to receive a dedicated YouTube service.
Google has placed local servers in SA to provide a local store of video content and improve performance for South African viewers, but would not provide information on local network partners or how content will be selected for caching.
- Fin24.com