Popular Pakistani YouTube channels are now making over Rs1 million annually
The world’s biggest video-streaming platform YouTube hosted a virtual Pakistan creator roundtable in which some of the country’s most popular channels shared their experiences and stories.
The event was attended by media persons and the brains behind the four renowned Pakistani YouTube channels: Ducky Bhai, Something Haute, Sistrology, and Street Food PK.
“Over 55 percent of the viewership of Pakistani YouTube channels comes from outside the country,” Farhan S. Qureshi, Country Director of Pakistan at Google, said during the roundtable.
“The number indicates that the content created by Pakistani YouTubers is highly popular all across the globe.”
Over the past couple of years, Pakistan has seen a significant increase in the number of vloggers who have attracted a sizable following on the platform.
Qureshi said over 4,500 YouTube channels across Pakistan had managed to garner more than 100,000 subscribers, registering a growth of 45 percent.
He said popular Pakistani YouTube channels were “now making over Rs1 million annually recording a growth rate of more than 140pc year-over-year. “
Saad Ur Rehman, popularly known as ‘Ducky Bhai,’ recalled how he first started out on YouTube, borrowing gadgets from shopkeepers and friends to make videos on gaming and tech.
“I learned to edit, created ‘Ducky Bhai’ and things changed. It grew to podcasts, Vlogs and ‘Ducky Extra’,” he said.
Zia Tabaruk, the man behind the popular YouTube account Street Food PK which has over 980,000 subscribers, left his job to pursue vlogging on the video platform. His reviews of Pakistani cuisines paid off ultimately.
“Not only did the decision pay off for him financially, but Tabaruk now gets to be as creative with his videos as he wants,” YouTube’s statement read.
Something Haute’s Aamna Haider Isani who quit her job to focus on the content creation on YouTube shared that despite her being not tech-savvy, her channel garnered good viewership, encouraging her to post more videos. Sharing how she managed to build a community, she said that she was absolutely overwhelmed when over 50 people turned up to meet her at a meet-up session in DC, United States.