Ari KesisogluJEDDAH – For the first time ever this Ramadan, millions of viewers around the world will be able to watch more than 50 premium Ramadan shows on the same day they are aired on TV through a new dedicated channel on YouTube. The new channel, youtube.com/ramadan, will be a hub for all viewers to experience the Ramadan tradition of watching their favorite Arabic series using the Internet. “This innovative project is the first-of-its-kind and showcases the momentum YouTube has generated as a destination for premium content for our users," said Ari Kesisoglu, Managing Director of Google in the Middle East and North Africa. Through the power of the Internet, users can watch their favorite Ramadan shows anytime, anywhere through YouTube.com/Ramadan, he pointed out. The hub is a joint venture between YouTube and Unilever who are the main sponsors, with the aim to promote top premium Ramadan shows on the hub for users across the globe to enjoy. “Unilever, Google and YouTube have a strong global relationship based on bringing digital innovations to the public. Thus, we are delighted that two of the Arab world's most beloved Unilever food & beverage brands, Lipton and Knorr, will bring a great online viewing experience to millions of people during the holy month of Ramadan," said David Porter, Media Director of Unilever MENA, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Youtube.com/Ramadan will feature hundreds of episodes from Ramadan television shows the day they are aired on TV for viewers to watch, comment on, favorite and share. For easy access, all shows will be categorized so that users will be able to browse shows by genre, and title. The hub will feature high quality episodes which are uploaded by their legal owners and aggregated within the hub in order to combat online piracy as well as to generate revenue for the partners via the advertisement system on the platform. The Middle East and North Africa region is second in the world for the most daily views, with an average of 167 million videos views a day. – SG
