The world’s biggest video-sharing platform YouTube is set to take a huge leap forward in delivering educational content online.
Google announced at its annual India conference on Monday, 19 December, that it will launch YouTube Courses in India in the first half of 2023.
The company said the feature is currently in beta and will roll out to users in India soon. It will allow creators to monetize their content, and offer free and paid courses in a structured learning experience. Creators will be able to publish and organize their videos and provide viewers with supplemental materials such as documents, images, PDFs, and more.
The company added that it would work on a revenue-sharing model with the creators, and the courses will span academic subjects as well as vocational interests, and viewers who buy a course will be able to watch the videos without ads.
Speaking to media during the Google for India 2022 event, YouTube India head Ishan Chatterjee said
It is up to the content creators whether they want to monetize their content around digital learning or not, but if they want monetization benefits out of their videos that helping viewers upskill, they will have that option soon.
YouTube already offers 8 monetization ways, and Courses is another one that Google is working on currently and plans to officially announce in the coming months.
YouTube Courses will start in beta form in India, the US, and South Korea. With India on its primary agenda, the company said the feature will start a pilot by offering courses on digital, professional, entrepreneurial, and personal passion skills.
According to Google, the creator economy of YouTube contributed over Rs 10,000 crores to the Indian GDP and generated more than 750,000 full-time jobs in India in 2021.
