KARACHI: The number of Pakistan-based content creators on YouTube earning over Rs10 million annually saw a 25 per cent increase, while over 65pc of the watch time on Pakistani content came from viewers outside the country.

A statement issued on Wednes­day, which revealed the country’s top videos of the year, quoted Google Country Director Farhan Qureshi as saying that Pakistani creators were showing their ability to speak to a global audience.

“Looking ahead, we’re excited about the possibilities of AI to take their content creation to the next level, and build stronger connections with viewers,” he said.

List of year’s top videos dominated by popular dramas; Bollywood offerings overshadow local artists in 2024

The list, released by Google, spans three categories — Top Trending Videos, Top Music Videos, and Top Creators.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pakistani dramas such as Ishq Murshid, Jaan Nisar, and Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum held the top three spots among the most popular videos, while Akhara and Abdullahpur Ka Devdas also made it to the top ten.

But the music videos chart rem­ained dominated by Indian content, with the Ali Zafar x Atta Ullah Esakhelvi collaboration Balo Batiyan being the only piece by a Pakistani artist to make it to the top ten.

Artists such as Gippy Grewal and Diljit Dosanjh and popular anthems from Bollywood films such as Stree 2 and Bad Newz dominated the top ten.

Slice-of-life content creators seemed to be the most popular in Pakistan, with channels such as Rajab’s Family, Anaya Eshaal Family, Arshad vlogs and Sistrology being among the most popular in 2024.

Seasoned YouTuber Duckybhai also remained among the top ten, which “showcase[s] the different voices on YouTube, covering everything from daily family vlogging to lifestyle, healthcare and educational content”.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2024