YouTube users can now download videos on mobile devices and store them for 48 hours. To start with, YouTube will make content available from Shemaroo, T-Series, Saregama and Yashraj Films for offline usage.
“Forty per cent of our traffic in India comes from mobile devices … By launching this offline experience, we hope to help people move past the challenges of data connection, speed and cost to enjoy a buffer-free version of YouTube,” said John Harding, Vice-President of Engineering at YouTube. YouTube’s offline feature, which was announced earlier this year by Google alongside the Android One, is ad-supported and available on Android and iOS platforms.
Shemaroo director Jai Maroo said: “With the new functionality, one can download videos when you have a good connection and view it when you want to. Now that downloading and viewing experience can be separated, consumption of videos will go up.”
Only a portion of Google’s online catalogue has been made available offline. YouTube will also partner with other content creators for the offline offering, said Rajan Anandan, Google India Managing Director.
Google acquired YouTube in 2006.
Separately, Anandan said that Google’s India Shopping Festival (GOSF) this year has been glitch free. “This is unlike the experience last year, when there were issues with connectivity," he added.
The GOSF, which is on till December 12, has seen sales of small and medium online retailers surge by up to 10 times.
“Most of the shopping is happening during lunch time and late evening hours. What I am most excited about is that we have seen the emergence of new categories such as housing, said Anandan, adding that Tata Housing has already got 10,000 online registrations for flats in the first day of the online shopping festival.