In a move focused on bringing African video content online, YouTube now launches in Senegal, after several other countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. A survey of a number of entrepreneurs reveals such video streaming services fulfill the dreams of African businesses.
According to Elijah Kitaka, Business Developer Google, YouTube can play a key role in Africanising the Web.
YouTube Video streaming will intensify the uptake of online content in Africa, he says.
Kitaka told the Balancing Act he foresees the potential of video streaming being realized. The firms, which upload content from original authors, are getting serious on Africanising the Web. span>Kitaka says there is still a lot of pain on the infrastructure side but this pain should reduce. Access and the cost of access is however still really a barrier.
Google has installed local cache servers in several African countries the neighbouring nations can take advantage of.
Google’s video streaming service also expects to work with content providers like existing African broadcasters with own content like Kenya’s NTV which livestreams its prime time news. SABC, a South Africa-based broadcasting agency, also uses YouTube as a platform.
According to Kitaka, YouTube’s video streaming service is also a plus to new wave user-generated content. He cites Kenya’s Kulahappy that produces comedy clips saying it has been going for just over six months and has since generated 2 million views.
Kitaka says users prefer local content and some 80 percent of what’s popular is African content. He therefore encourages businesses to sign up as Google Ads partner to grow their audiences.
He says there are two models for the firms to earn from Youtube, “Either you earn on a cost per click on adverts served or you get paid a cost per million views.”
Between 2010 and 2011, YouTube use in South Africa grew by 110 percent and the number of uploads grew by 120 percent while partner revenues grew by 570 percent. For the other larger markets, it has to wait 12 months after the launch to get figures out.
The majority of current users are in the 16 to 34 age group, reflecting the broader trend of technology take-up in Africa.
Kitaka however says two things need to happen before online streaming becomes more popular: one, mobile operators need to get their networks up to 3.75G and 4G so that the numbers who can access it goes up. There is an iron rule that no piece of content will ever attract all potential users. Two, African content and owners and producers need to take the plunge and get used to reaching potential audiences.
