Video-hosting website YouTube has launched a new feature that enables creators to add voice tracks to their content in multiple languages, making it easier for creators to grow their audiences around the world. YouTube has been testing multi-language dubs with a select group of creators over the past year, but the feature is now being made available to thousands more.
Early testers reportedly uploaded over 3,500 videos in more than 40 languages last month, with viewers watching over 2 million hours of dubbed video every day in January. The creators who tested the feature also found that around 15% of their watch time came from viewers playing their videos in another language.
The new feature will allow viewers to switch to their preferred language the first time they watch a video with dubs, and the website will then default to that language whenever they watch dubbed videos. Viewers will also be able to search for content dubbed in their language, even if the video’s primary language is different, through translated titles and descriptions.
Notable YouTube creator MrBeast, who has over 130 million subscribers worldwide and runs multiple channels in 11 different languages, was among those who tested the new multi-language tool. MrBeast expressed that it would be much easier to maintain just one channel with the new feature.
Although YouTube did not specify how it chose the thousands of creators who would be granted access to the feature, the website stated that it aims to expand the tool’s reach and make it available to everyone in due course.
