YouTube on crash course in SA

Google's Jared Molko. Image: LinkedIn

To many, not much. But they were the subjects of the three most-watched YouTube videos in South Africa last year.

The video website says that views in South Africa increased by more than 90% in 2013.

"We call the YouTube generation 'Generation C', with 70% of local YouTube users being between the ages of 18 and 34," said Jared Molko, of Google SA.

"According to a recent survey, young South Africans are constantly connected and if they need answers they are more likely to consult their smartphones than another person. This same group moves back and forth between different devices, and 88% of them are online daily," Molko said.

He said that entertainment and comedy are the content most consumed by South Africans on YouTube and that is something local content creators understand.

YouTube's South Africa earnings increased by 60% in 2012.

Home fitness expert Peter Cilliers says he earns more than R50,000 a month by uploading videos to his channel, which has more than 93.5m views and over 260 subscribers.

Anne Hirsch started her talk show on YouTube in 2012. Today she has more than 420,000 views of her weekly show, which has featured the likes of Helen Zille, Casper de Vries and Karen Zoid.

"I now have millions, if not billions, of fANNE's! I cannot leave the house without approaching people and handing them my autograph. They don't even have to ask for it!" said Hirsch.

Last year the most-watched video in South Africa was the Pinetown truck crash, posted by the eNews Channel.

Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball music video took top honours globally. The top ad on YouTube SA was "Dove real beauty".

Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge