03 August 2009

YouTube launches local news feature

YouTube's local news feature 'News Near You' provides YouTube users with relevant news videos based on their location. This follows expansion by parent company Google into other areas of media coverage, but unlike the Google News service - viewed by some media agencies as a source of competition - YouTube's local news feature is being presented as a source of advertising revenue to broadcasters, and a means of attracting a wider, more relevant audience.

News Near You provides YouTube users with a selection of local news bulletins based on their geographical location. According to the New York Times, the service currently highlights relevant videos uploaded within the last seven days, recorded within a 100 mile radius of the user's internet address. The feature aims to become increasingly localised as YouTube attracts further news suppliers.

Since its launch in the Spring, nearly 200 news broadcasters have eagerly signed up to feature in News Near You, and Google has invited 25,000 news outlets listed in Google News to expand into video news bulletins to earn a share of advertising revenue - although it's of note that the revenue generated by the project has thus far remained rather limited. Major news networks such as ABC News and the Associated Press are featured alongside radio shows and amateur broadcasters.

The New York Times reports that YouTube's head of news Steve Grove claims that 5 percent of YouTube users who encounter the News Near You feature will watch at least one local video, a ratio he sees as encouraging. Grove cites "the relevancy factor" as the reason behind this interest, as YouTube users are able to watch videos from their local neighbourhood "that actually matter."

With breaking news stories becoming increasingly sourced from the public domain, professional broadcasts share equal visibility with amateur videos uploaded to YouTube from iPhones and mobiles. This lack of quality filtering means that News For You is still some distance from replacing the local television news bulletin, but this is expected to change as further professional broadcasters sign up.

What's more, with competition from real-time news updaters in the realms of Twitter and the like, any move to ensure that news content is delivered quickly and relevantly is sure to be a boon for broadcasters big and small - even if it does mean putting some faith in YouTube to self police.

Over 100 million Americans visit YouTube every month, and by embracing the growing online service rather than treating it as a competitor, broadcasters will find it easier to reach a wider, more relevant audience.

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