UC Browser bets big on short videos for 2019

UC Browser, the world's leading third-party mobile browser and a content platform, has said that short-form content, including short videos and snackable content, is its top content priority for this year.

The company pointed out that short videos account 40 percent of overall content consumption on the platform while daily video uploads have increased 100 percent in the last six months.

"2018 has proved to be a great year for short videos and we are glad to see a rapid growth of short video creators on UC platform. As smartphones become more popular and mobile data gets more affordable there will be explosive growth of video content consumption. Short-form and snackable content is already driving the growth in the consumption of digital media and re-shaping the content space. The next few years will usher in a new era of content creation and distribution, even monetization," General Manager-UC Global Business Damon Xi said.

However, in terms of genre, entertainment remains the most popular category for Indian users on the platform and according to an internal study, Indian smartphone users spend 1.1 hours on average on entertainment content every day.

"While UC is expanding its operations in India, we are also looking at investments and opportunities in the content industry. Since India has a lot of diversity, we are looking at content players across various languages. Apart from entertainment content, we will provide more localized content in various formats and vernacular languages. Meanwhile, through the UC campus projects, we have set up platforms for young talents to showcase their creativity", Damon added.

For those who are not aware, UC has also partnered with multiple Bollywood production houses such as Zee Studios, RSVP and Red Chillies as Online Entertainment Trending Partner for many movies including URI.