YouTube Shorts, video giant’s TikTok copycat, is rolling out in 100-plus countries

YouTube Shorts generated 6.5 billion daily views in March 2021 alone, according to Google. The global expansion promises to kick that number higher, even as YouTube still hasn’t thrown the switch on inserting ads or introducing other monetization options for YouTube Shorts. — Pixabay

LOS ANGELES: YouTube Shorts, a bid to tap into the surging popularity of short-form, shareable clips – a format that has fuelled TikTok’s massive growth – is going global.

The Google video platform initially launched YouTube Shorts in India in the fall of 2020 and has since expanded the feature to 26 more countries, including the US this spring. Starting this week, it’s rolling out YouTube Shorts to more than 100 countries around the world where YouTube is available.