YouTube Goes Local With 9 Country Specific Versions

YouTube will launch nine country specific versions of YouTube today.

YouTube local versions will be available for Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the U.K, complete with relative country specific domains such as youtube.fr and youtube.jp.

The new sites include fully translated site content and will eventually deliver country specific popular content.

The new sites will be provided as an option to all YouTube users, although YouTube will be encouraging local users to switch by offering them direct links to local versions.

YouTube’s broadcast partners in the rollout countries include the BBC, France 24, the Spanish Antena 3 and Cuatro TV, the Portuguese RTP, the Dutch VPRO and NPO, along with a number of Football (Soccer Clubs) and not-for-profit organizations.

The only thing remarkable about the move to provide localized versions of YouTube is the fact that it hadn’t been done before. YouTube has been phenomenally successful to date; opening up the site to a non-English speaking audience will drive a new wave of growth that will further cement YouTube’s place as the leading online destination for on-demand internet video.