Weekly news round-up: YouTube tightens rules & Spotify expands

YouTube sets strict revenue-sharing regulations
New rules have been unveiled by YouTube making its creator revenue-sharing initiative more restrictive. It has also pledged to manually review all videos that feature in its Google Preferred premium advertisers. According to Variety, the steps are designed to assure advertisers their messages won’t appear next to inappropriate or explicit videos. YouTube said the move was not a response to cutting ties with Vlogger Logan Paul after he posted a controversial video and was subsequently removed from the platform.  

Nokia signs first 5G equipment deal
Nokia has confirmed its first major deal to supply new 5G wireless radio base stations to Japanese telecom operator NTT DoCoMo which occupies nearly half of the country’s mobile subscribers. According to Reuters, the financial terms were not agreed but the plans are set to be up and running by 2020 in time for the Tokyo Olympics.  

Spotify expands into visual content
Music streaming giant Spotify will launch a new feature to allow listeners to see stories, news and other content ahead of its IPO push. According to Reuters, the new feature called Spotlight will feature content from BuzzFeed News, Cheddar and Crooked Media available to its 70 million subscribers through a playlist.   

Google to expand cloud infrastructure Google announced its commitment to expanding its infrastructure for cloud customers, having invested $30 billion in the last three years. Reuters reported Google said it would add five regions and build three new submarine cables with the Netherlands and Montreal regions set to open in the first quarter of 2018, followed by Los Angeles, Finland and Hong Kong. 

Facebook plans major changes to news feed 
Facebook is set to change the algorithm to its news feed, making posts from businesses, brands and media less prominent. Instead, it will promote personal moments from family and friends, reported the BBC. In a statement, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said: ”By making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down.” 

YoSpace and NexPlayer announce partnership 
The deal between YoSpace and NexPlayer will allow broadcasters to monetise live streams on HTML5 platforms to provide comprehensive streaming and dynamic ad insertion experience on the web. According to TVBEurope, Yospace’s HTML5 SDK has been pre-integrated into the NexPlayer HTML5 player. The partnership will enable interactive advertisements by allowing viewers to click on ads for more information on the product.    

MENA online video market set for 22% growth
According to a report from EY, video consumption in the MENA region isforecast to grow 22% over the next five years. Rapid TV News reported the digital share of video revenue will rise from 9.6% in 2017 to 17.3% by 2021. The drive in growth is attributed to fast-improving mobile connectivity as well as the influx of streaming platforms into the market.