If you missed the news, YouTube announced the launch of their new local edition of their video juggernaut, highlighting the Australian community that already exists (but can’t help but be less obvious under the weight of global content) as well as launching partnerships with many big Australian content producers. All the majors except Channel Nine are getting involved, along with Sky News and even people like Fairfax.
It’s been getting plenty of mainstream attention, but I’m sure many netizens will be thinking ‘meh’? Personally, I think it is good – getting easier access to local content is never a bad thing, just as long as it stays easy to get to the global stuff. But so far I’ve actually found it hard to find these Australian content channels from the big broadcasters. Is it good they’re on an equal footing with ‘the rest of us’ in terms of content placement? Or should we be able to more easily find the YouTube homes of broadcasters who are sharing some of their content through the site?