YouTube Shines a Spotlight on Canada with Launch of New CanCon Channel

TORONTO, July 31, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, YouTube is launching a new way for Canadians to discover the best and buzziest Canadian content on YouTube. YouTube Spotlight Canada will showcase Canada's top stars in both French and English, alongside emerging Canadian talent.

Every month, YouTube Spotlight Canada will highlight the creators and the videos that have Canada clicking, watching and sharing. The channel will also feature themed playlists to help Canadians explore trending topics and news stories.

"Canada is the first country to have its own Spotlight channel dedicated solely to local creators," explained Marie Josée Lamothe, Managing Director, Quebec, Google Canada. "Canadians make up one of the world's most vibrant communities on YouTube — watchtime in Canada has grown 30% over last year, and our Canadian YouTubers are exploding internationally. We are so proud of their success and want to do more to share it here at home."

The inaugural edition of YouTube Spotlight Canada is a celebration of the best of the true north, strong and free. Canadians can meet the country's favourite YouTubers, check out highlights from Canada 150 celebrations, re-live moments in Canadian history and dive into an incredible roster of indigenous music artists.

In addition to this new channel, YouTube is also launching its popular Creator on the Rise feature in Canada, starting on August 2, 2017. Creator on the Rise will identify Canadian creators who are growing rapidly and showcase their videos in the Trending tab on YouTube, helping them build an even bigger audience.

Canada's YouTubers are part of a new generation of Canadian artists growing up online, and finding fans both at home and around the world. YouTube's open model and global scale reduces the cost of getting content to international markets. As a result, 90% of views on Canadian channels come from outside of Canada, which is higher than any other country on the platform. By lowering barriers to entry, it's become a powerful platform for creators in Canada to get their voice heard.

"Canada is home to some of the world's most creative people and YouTube is empowering this generation of creative Canadians to express themselves to the world," said Lamothe. "We are thrilled to shine a spotlight on the diverse Canadian voices creating on our platform."

YouTube by the Numbers*:

• YouTube has over 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users and every day people watch over a billion hours of video and generate billions of views.
• YouTube's watchtime in Canada is up 30% over last year.
• In the past year, Canadian channels have seen their watchtime grow 45%.
• As Canadian creators build their international fanbase, watchtime for Canadian channels has grown 185% in India, and over 40% in the US, France and Australia.
• Globally, there are 75% more channels with 1M+ subscribers versus last year.
• We saw a 65% increase in the number of Canadian channels that have more than 100K subscribers.
• Watchtime for Canadian broadcast TV channels on YouTube has grown by 400% over the last 3 years.

*Source: YouTube internal data, 2017

About YouTube Spotlight Canada
YouTube Spotlight Canada is a new way to discover the best Canadian content on YouTube. This new channel will showcase both rising talents and established stars from across the country. Each month will have a theme and will feature playlists of talented Canadians who are trending on the platform, alongside Canadian news stories and trending videos.

About Creator on the Rise
Creator on the Rise is a new feature on the Trending tab on both desktop and mobile that will identify Canadian creators who are rapidly growing and help them to build a bigger audience. A new creator will be featured every week, and any creator with over 1,000 subscribers is eligible to be featured. On The Rise creators are selected based on a variety of factors including viewcount, watchtime and subscriber growth.

SOURCE Google Canada

or to request an interview, please contact: Nicole Bell, Google Canada, [email protected]