Google-owned video platform YouTube has announced rolling out its new "Shorts" service to over 100 countries, to allow the platform's users to create and share short-form videos, similar to popular app TikTok, reported AFP.
The new service was first launched as a Beta version few months ago, enabling users around the world to watch short videos lasting up to 60 seconds. However, Shorts, which allows adding texts and audiovisual effects, is not available in all countries yet.
The new service was first launched in India last year, and then in the US in March. Users in over 20 countries (including the UK, Canada, and South America) started using its Beta version in June, and it set to be available in Europe, Middle East, and Africa as of July 14, according to YouTube.
The company is counting on this new globally diffusing service to enrich a new pillar of its strategy.
Users of Shorts can add audio from videos from across YouTube, which allows them to produce catchy videos, like those created to comment on other content shared on the platform, or to introduce certain recipes.
Other upcoming features are also expected to boost the views of Shorts, which surpassed 6.5 billion daily views since its launch, according to YouTube. The group announced its fund to support the producers of short videos in India and the US, worth $100 million in 2021-2022, "will be launched soon in other countries."
While experts see YouTube's development of such a service as a response to TikTok's huge success among the younger generation, the Google-owned platform describes "Shorts" as a natural advancement that convoys the improvement of video technologies on mobile devices.
