YouTube says rule-breaking videos get scant views

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - YouTube on Tuesday said rule-breaking videos get looked at very little before being removed by the Google-owned platform.

YouTube added "Violative View Rate" to its quarterly transparency report to indicate what percentage of views come from content that violates its policies, and said the figure was a small fraction of a percent in the final three months of last year.

"It's a very low number," YouTube director of trust and safety Jennifer O'Connor said while briefing journalists.

"Of course we want it to be lower, and that's what my team works day in and day out to try to do."

The rate derived by sampling YouTube content indicated that violating content accounted for 16 to 18 of every 10,000 views on the platform, where the biggest category for rule breaking is typically spam, O'Connor said.

YouTube did not provide a breakdown of which rules were being violated by videos involved in the calculation.

Automated systems at YouTube detect 94 percent of violating content flagged, removing 75 percent of it before a video gets 10 views, according to the streaming platform.

Internal teams at YouTube have used the VVR as a metric for their efforts since 2017, and it has fallen some 70 percent as the company has invested in technology and workers to catch unwanted videos, O'Connor said.

More than 20,000 people at Google are devoted to keeping the platform safe, she added.

Google and YouTube are among internet services that have been hammered with criticism that they have not done enough to stop the spread of misinformation and other abuses that can cause real-world harm.

Since it started releasing community guideline enforcement reports in 2018, YouTube has removed more than 83 million videos and 7 billion comments, according to the service.

The VVR is calculated by sending samplings of videos on YouTube to reviewers to determine whether they violate policies in a system O'Connor touted as statistically reliable.

"By sampling, we gain a more comprehensive view of the violative content we might not be catching with our systems," YouTube said in a blog post.

"We believe the VVR is the best way for us to understand how harmful content impacts viewers, and to identify where we need to make improvements."

Agence France-Presse

Netflix keeps growing in pandemic, tops 200 million subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO - Netflix on Tuesday delivered stronger-than-expected subscriber growth in the past quarter, keeping ahead of new streaming rivals competing for viewers stuck in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.

The streaming television leader added some 8.5 million paid subscribers in the quarter to reach 203 million, topping 200 million despite recent price hikes, its quarterly earning update showed.

Netflix shares jumped more than 12 percent in after-market trades following the release.

Profits dipped to $542 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $587 million in the same period in 2019. But overall revenue in the quarter surged 21.5 percent to $6.6 billion.

For the full year, Netflix added a record 37 million paid memberships, according to the earnings report.

"We're enormously grateful that in these uniquely challenging times we’ve been able to provide our members around the world with a source of escape, connection and joy while continuing to build our business," Netflix said in a letter to investors.

Paid membership increased 23 percent in the final quarter of 2020 when compared with the same period a year earlier, but average revenue per membership was flat, according to the Silicon Valley based company.

While Netflix raised rates slightly in the US late last year, the majority -- some 83 percent -- of its new subscribers were from outside North America, the earnings report indicated.

FILMS TO LAUNCH

Netflix has invested heavily in original shows and films to make itself a must-have service in the increasingly competitive streaming television market.

Apple, Comcast, Disney and others have taken on Netflix with streaming television services of their own

"The big growth in streaming entertainment has led legacy competitors like Disney, WarnerMedia and Discovery to compete with us in new ways, which we’ve been expecting for many years," Netflix said in the letter.

"This is, in part, why we have been moving so quickly to grow and further strengthen our original content library across a wide range of genres and nations."

Netflix executives said its productions are back up and running in most regions after being derailed by the pandemic.

Netflix boasted having more than 500 titles in post-production or being readied for release on the service, with the plan being to launch at least one new original film weekly.

Already the master of the pandemic-era movie landscape, Netflix last week offered a preview of upcoming 2021 releases, a list with no fewer than 70 star-studded feature films. 

From drama, comedy and science fiction to horror and even Westerns, the slate will take in every major film genre before the year is out, with some releases poised as potential competition for major awards. 

Among the most-anticipated titles is "Don't Look Up," from filmmaker Adam McKay of "The Big Short" and "Vice" fame and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The Harder They Fall," a Western co-produced by Jay-Z and with a primarily Black cast including Regina King and Idris Elba, also promises to be one to look out for. 

The announcement -- via a brochure on the streamer's website -- was accompanied by a short video presented by "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot, "Jumanji" lead Dwayne Johnson and "Deadpool" actor Ryan Reynolds. 

Johnson, Gadot and Reynolds will appear in "Red Notice," an action film with a $160 million budget, according to US media. 

Agence France-Presse

Netflix to reduce streaming quality in Europe to avoid internet overload

BRUSSELS -- Netflix will reduce the quality of its streaming in Europe to ease pressure on the internet, the firm said, as demand soars across the continent where millions are confined to their homes over coronavirus fears.

The streaming giant will "begin reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 percent while also ensuring a good quality service for our members," the statement added.

With wide-ranging lockdowns and quarantines, schools, shops and borders closed and gatherings banned, people across Europe are increasingly turning to the internet to stave off boredom.

But the huge file sizes of high definition offerings from web giants like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO and Amazon are slowing the web, Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the internal market and digital economy warned.

"Teleworking and streaming help a lot but infrastructures might be in strain," he said in a tweet Thursday, calling for online platforms to switch to streaming in standard definition instead of HD.

Gamers breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after the end of an hours-long network outage that affected Nintendo's online games and prompted despair from users.

"Only a few days into the coronavirus self-isolation and Nintendo servers are already down... oh dear god," tweeted one.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

YouTube touts first new original program under free strategy

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO - Alphabet Inc's YouTube unveiled on Thursday nine new original programs that will be available for free this year as the streaming service shrinks an effort to attract subscribers with content exclusively behind a paywall.

The unveiling at a YouTube event for advertisers and media in New York offered the first glimpse at how the shift announced in November away from subscriber-only content will play out across the world.

Programming has turned out to be less of a draw for YouTube Premium subscribers than ad-free viewing and other perks, while YouTube has faced pressure from advertisers to increase its supply of television-like content that is suitable for sponsorship.

New programs include a documentary about Dude Perfect, a group that performs sports tricks on YouTube, and an interactive series featuring YouTube star Mark Fischbach that lets viewers control the storyline.

Also on tap are an investigation show from media startup Vox and a set of standalone films from The School of Life channel on YouTube that "explore some of the greatest philosophical questions of our age," YouTube said.

More programs are expected to be announced later this year, including an international slate. As YouTube seeks to broaden its audience for original programming, it plans to direct half of its development budget to programs aimed at viewers outside the United States, according to a person familiar with the matter.

YouTube said its overall spending on programming remains consistent with past years.

Alphabet does not break out financial results for YouTube, which is part of Google, but financial analysts expressed concern this week that advertiser scrutiny of user-generated inappropriate or offensive content on YouTube could be among reasons for a slowdown in revenue growth at Google.

Ads are YouTube's core business, and executives said Thursday they wanted to align the original content arm with the overall business.

“While every other media company is building a paywall, we are headed in the opposite direction," YouTube's chief business officer, Robert Kyncl, said in a statement.

YouTube said it is still testing content-related benefits for subscribers. For instance, all episodes from the next season of its popular show "Cobra Kai," which is based on the Karate Kid movie franchise, will be available to subscribers when it launches. Non-subscribers will gain access to one new episode per week, similar to the rollout of shows on traditional television.

New episodes of a handful of existing programs are likely to remain subscriber-only because of prior commitments, YouTube said.

GLOBAL FOCUS

YouTube showcased only one international program on Thursday, a documentary due in June on Latin American pop star Maluma.

YouTube streamed about a dozen original shows and movies over the last year that were aimed internationally where it saw a big opportunity to get subscribers, including in France, Germany, India, South Korea and Japan.

YouTube has shifted gears several times on original programming since making it a focus in 2011. Among debates have been whether ad sales alone could be enough to generate a return on investment, especially for expensive scripted shows.

Overall, YouTube has debuted about 75 shows and 28 films under its previous strategy, which was launched in 2016, according to a Reuters tally. Thirteen of those shows so far went onto multiple seasons.

Though some shows drew significant viewership to free samples, they were not renewed because they struggled to convert users into subscribers, according to content makers.

YouTube declined to comment on the figures or evaluation process.

The streaming service also announced 2 projects scheduled for next year featuring global stars: A documentary on model Paris Hilton and a secret project with singer Justin Bieber. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com