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This hub is the product of a joint venture between YouTube and Unilever, who is the main sponsor.
"Unilever, Google and YouTube have a strong global relationship based on bringing digital innovations to the public," said David Porter, Unilever's Media Director for Mena.
"We are delighted that two of the Arab world's most beloved Unilever food & beverage brands, Lipton and Knorr, will bring a great online viewing experience to millions of people during the holy month of Ramadan."
The new advertising platform was launched just three days ago. Alfonso de Gaetano, Google's Industry Head for the Gulf Region commented on the importance of the new model in forging partnerships.
"Our previous format was not super attractive in terms of value branding proposition, but now with YouTube being there it becomes super attractive for partners who prefer video [advertising]."
"All content from all global premium partners is available in the region. Anyone from Mena can watch content from the US, UK, Europe and so on. But this (Ramadan initiative) is the biggest program we have that is specific to Mena. Now we're moving in this direction of adding partners and building content that is really attractive to local communities," de Gaetano told AMEinfo.com.
Saudi YouTube users ahead of USA, biggest Mena audience
According to de Gaetano, there are 90 million YouTube video views in Saudi Arabia per day. In terms of views per person, this is three times as many videos as are watched in the US. Counting actual video views - the highest number of YouTube views in the world per internet user.
Mena users overall generate 167 million video views on YouTube every day, which puts the region slightly behind the USA and ahead of Brazil, who are third. Those daily views represent a 112% increase since last October; more than double the views in less than a year - a rapid rise in line with to boosted numbers on Facebook, Twitter and other blogging platforms.
In order to convince partners to add premium content, namely full episodes of popular TV shows, ad revenues need to be clearly divided.
"That's why it's happening now, after the big advertising launch in Mena," explained de Gaetano.
Thanks to YouTube's anti-piracy technology, any stolen content can be tracked and shut down. However, de Gaetano pointed out that not all partners opt to clamp down on pirated videos, because of hidden marketing benefits.
"Thanks to our technology we can identify piracy and shut it down very quickly. We don't see this as a problem and sometimes partners don't shut down pirated content because they're getting a lot of marketing benefits from increased viewings. We leave it up to partners to make the best decision, but they have the tools to shut down [pirated content] - if they want to," he said.
Youtube.com/Ramadan will add more content daily, as TV shows are aired during the holy month. Partners are responsible for uploading and managing the content, via the hub, themselves - generating revenue through the new advertising platform.
Steven Bond, Reporter
