What South Africans do on YouTube
In 2013, YouTube views in South Africa increased by over 90%. This is according to statistics released by Google and YouTube.
Globally, almost 40% of YouTube’s 6 billion hours of monthly watch-time comes from mobile devices. On average, 60% of a channel’s views come from outside the creator’s home country.
“We call the YouTube generation ‘Generation C’, with 70% of South African YouTuber users being between the age of 18-34,” said Jared Molko, YouTube brand partnerships lead at Google South Africa.
“According to a recent survey, these young South Africans are constantly connected and, if they need answers to something, they are more likely to consult their smartphones than another person nearby.”
Molko said that entertainment and comedy are the most consumed content category by South Africans on YouTube.
Some of the top YouTube content creators in South Africa are:
- Thierry Cassuto, Executive Producer and co-creator with Zapiro of South Africa’s satirical puppet show ZANEWS said, “Whether you’re a teenager at home or a global media powerhouse, your videos have to be on YouTube. Google has managed to create a social video ecosystem with such critical mass that your videos basically don’t exist on the web if they’re not on YouTube.”
- Anne Hirsch, presenter and creator of The Anne Hirsch Show, started her channel in mid-2012 with Zootee Studios, and since has received over 420,000 views of her weekly show. Describing her journey on YouTube, Hirsch says “Thanks to YouTube I now have millions if not billions of fANNE’s! I literally can not leave the house without approaching people and handing them my autograph; they don’t even have to ask for it!”.
- Web fitness celeb Peter Cilliers, creator of SixPackFactory, who earns over R50 000 a month by uploading one exercise video a week to his channel – this excludes the revenue made from sales of his own products through the channel. The channel has received more than 93,5 million views and has over 259 000 subscribers.
- Hit isiZulu animator Mdu Ntuli of MduComics, whose channel was among the top ten most watched South African channels of 2013. The channel has almost 35 000 subscribers, and is fast approaching 6 million views.
- Teen sensation Caspar Lee has over 2 million subscribers, more than BBC Worldwide (803 000 subscribers) and already over half the number of Top Gear (3.6 million subscribers). At the age of 20, he is already fully financially independent – all from his diary entries on his YouTube channel, which gets over 5.7 millions views per month.
- Energy expert Martin Lorton at Solar Power and Electronic Measurement has over 56 000 subscribers, which seems to grow by about 4 500 a month, and has reached half a million views per month on the channel. Martin monetised his YouTube channel in June 2011, earning only R170 in the first month. However, his channel has grown in popularity through direct and indirect viewing, resulting in earnings of up to R100 000 a month.
- Wildlife expert and game ranger, Rob the Ranger, who has seen a massive 200% increase in subscribers over the last year, uploads wildlife footage to his channel, iDube Rob the Ranger. Rob is also part of the YouTube Partnership Programme and has received positive results since monetising the channel – since December 2012, his earnings have quadrupled.
YouTube metrics: South Africa in 2013
- YouTube views in South Africa grew by over 90%
- 68% of SA users watch YouTube for education and learning
- 55% of users agree that YouTube has more unique content than TV
- 70% of users see YouTube as the first place to go when looking for online content
- 63% of SA YouTube users have taken action after seeing an ad on YouTube (clicked on the ad, looked for more information)
- Partner revenue from mobile ad sales tripled in 2013
Global YouTube Metrics
- Almost 40% of YouTube viewership is from mobile.
- Daily watchtime grew 50% in 2013
- The number of people subscribing daily is up more than 3X, and number of subscriptions daily is up 4X y/y
- YouTube’s iOS app has been downloaded more than 350 million times, and was the #2 App Store app of 2013, according to official Apple rankings
- Mobile monetization tripled from 2012 to 2013
- People upload more than 100 hours per minute to YouTube
- Partner revenue increased by 60% from 2012 to 2013
- There are over 1 billion unique monthly users
- 75% of our ads that appear in videos are now skippable
- Thousands of partners are now making six figures
Top 10 Channels in South Africa in 2013
1. PewDiePie
2. TheEllenShow
3. TheXFactorUSA
4. JennaMarbles
5. JustForLaughsTV
6. ERB
7. mducomics
8. failarmy
9. RayWilliamJohnson
10. BeeldVideo
South Africa’s Most watched YouTube Videos of 2013, excluding Major Music Labels
1. Shocking Pinetown truck crash footage by enewschannel
2. Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) [Official music video HD] by tvnorge
3. Halls – Klein Kimmie by HallsSA
4. Jaguar Attacks Crocodile (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) by NationalGeographic
5. How Animals Eat Their Food | MisterEpicMann by MisterEpicMann
6. 7 year old girl steals iPhone by jessostrin
7. Dove Real Beauty Sketches by doveunitedstates
8. British Airways – Man vs Plane by FlyBritishAirways
9. Exclusive video footage on the Westgate attack by CCTVAFRICALIVE
10. Biker riding unsafely with small child 2013 08 25 by Rad Bonos
Top 10 Music Videos watched by South Africans in 2013
1. Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball by MileyCyrusVEVO
2. Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop by MileyCyrusVEVO
3. Katy Perry – Roar (Official) by KatyPerryVEVO
4. PSY – GENTLEMAN M/V by officialpsy
5. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell by RobinThickeVEVO
6. Rihanna – Stay ft. Mikky Ekko by RihannaVEVO
7. Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) [Official music video HD] by tvnorge
8. Rihanna – Pour It Up (Explicit) by RihannaVEVO
9. DJ Ganyani ft FB – Xigubu (Official Music Video) by GanyaniEntertainment
10. P!nk – Just Give Me A Reason ft. Nate Ruess by PinkVEVO
Top 5 Ads watched by South Africans in 2013
1. Dove Real Beauty Sketches by doveunitedst
2. Beacon Allsorts What’s my name? You Decide by BeaconAllsorts
3. Breakfast Run by KFCsouthafrica
4. Volkswagen Polo Vivo: The Answer by volkswagensa
5. Football superstar Lionel Messi’s TVC for WeChat – Father’s day by WeChatVideo
Global Top Trending Videos in 2013
1. Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) by tvnorge
2. Harlem Shake (original army edition) by kennethaakonsen
3. How Animals Eat Their Food | MisterEpicMann by MisterEpicMann
4. Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball (Chatroulette Version) by SteveKardynal
5. baby&me / the new evian film by EvianBabies
6. Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split feat. Van Damme by VolvoTrucks
7. YOLO (feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar) by thelonelyisland
8. Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise by CarrieNYC
9. THE NFL : A Bad Lip Reading by BadLipReading
10. Mozart vs Skrillex. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2 by ERB
YouTube’s fans (Click to enlarge)
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