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Johannesburg - Local mobile operator Vodacom is hoping to launch a new service allowing users to watch more YouTube videos offline. This comes after CEO Shameel Joosub told Fin24 that the company is looking to offer customers more video content.
In a bid to make it easier for customers to access content, Vodacom is working with YouTube to launch YouTube Smart Offline.
The service allows Android customers to schedule video downloads overnight between 00:00 and 05:00, encouraging them to purchase Vodacom’s lower priced Night Owl Bundles to download videos.
The service is currently available to prepaid and hybrid customers, with contract bundles expected to launch in the next couple of months.
READ: Vodacom CEO says data prices could fall even further
“With YouTube Smart Offline, we make it more cost effective for our customers to access content at significantly faster download speeds,” said Zunaid Mahomed, group digital and fixed services officer.
YouTube Smart Offline also eliminates buffering and extra data charges, with downloaded content available for 48 hours.
Joosub recently told Fin24 that data prices could fall even further, after recent results showed revenue growth spurred by data consumption.
READ: Vodacom CEO says data prices could fall even further
"With the price of data decreasing, we want to continue to offer customers more value through content partnerships," he said.
The mobile network provider grew its data revenue by almost 20% year-on-year to R20.696bn, while its local customer base rose to 3 million, according to results for the year to end-March 2017.
How YouTube Smart Offline works
Step one:
- Find a YouTube video you’d like to watch.
- Tap the ‘Offline’ icon to schedule it to be saved overnight.
Step two:
- Choose the video resolution, then select ‘Save overnight’ to use your Night Owl Data between midnight and 05:00.
- Keep your cellphone data on at night and your videos will download automatically while you sleep.
Step four:
- To access videos or playlists that have been added to Offline, tap on ‘Saved Videos’ in the account tab of the YouTube mobile app.
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