The Dish On YouTube’s Offline Videos

There is no arguing that YouTube is the site to go to for video content. Whether it’s music, how-tos, or simply stupid, fun videos, YouTube has got something for everyone. And while there are some people who would not touch the site with a 12-foot pole, YouTube’s stats show that they have the upper hand.

Did you know that more than 1 billion users – unique! – visit YouTube each month? Even more mind blowing is the fact that more than 6 billion hours of video are watched each month. That equates to almost an hour for every single person on Earth! And according to Nielsen, YouTube bests any cable network in the US, reaching more US adults in the age range 18-34. (Source)

So what’s up with YouTube? There’s the saying that you should not fix it if it ain’t broke. Why are they making some considerable changes?

Well, it’s not exactly NOT broke. Or, at the very least, there are certain things that needed improvement, and that’s what the YouTube team has done with recent updates.

I don’t know about you, but where I come from, mobile Internet still has a lot of room for improvement. While things have really looked up in recent years, there are still times when I want to curse my telco for being so dumb. And that’s where the ability to watch YouTube videos even without a net connection comes in very handy.

In a blog entry last week, YouTube announced that they are going to soon launch a feature that will allow viewers to watch offline videos. There are some important details to know about this upcoming feature:

• The YouTube mobile app is necessary to take advantage of this feature. Ads included.
• The offline videos are time sensitive. You only have 48 hours to watch them without an Internet connection.
• This feature does not cover movies and TV shows YouTube offers for rent/purchase.

If you’re a content producer, then you also need to know that this will be the default setting, so if you do not want your content to be available offline, you have to manually change the settings.

[Image via Makeuseof]