Year of the Dog. Spider. Spiderdog. Whatever. YouTube’s 2014 in review

Every year for the past six years YouTube has released a list of the most watched videos and most popular channels of the preceding year. Politics featured heavily in the South African rankings this year, from Julius Malema’s antics in parliament to a statement from the official opposition on a controversial advert, but even South Africans weren’t immune to the charms of a Polish prankster who dressed his dog like a spider and unleashed it on unsuspecting members of the public – which, incidentally, was the most popular video of 2014, globally.

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoB8t0B4jx4″]

The most watched video in South Africa in 2014 was an animated offering called Noko vs Izikhotane from Ramscomics. Second place went to the eNews Channel’s take on the events of the night Oscar Pistorious killed Reeva Steenkamp, while the bronze went to News24’s video of Julius Malema’s speech in parliament.

Here are the top ten most watched YouTube videos in South Africa in 2014:

1. Noko vs Izikhothane by Ramscomics
2. Oscar Pistorius Animation: The night Oscar killed Reeva Steenkamp by enewschannel
3. Julius Malema speech causes a stir in parliament by News24Video
4. Caught On Camera: Snake Devours Crocodile After 5 Hour Battle by barcroftmedia
5. ANC Ayisafani – DA TV ad by DAParliament
6. Mutant Giant Spider Dog by wardegasa
7. EFF takes on Zuma in Parliament by sabcdigitalnews
8. Julius Malema reacts to SONA 2014 in parliament by sabcdigitalnews
9. Bars & Melody – Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer act | Britain’s Got Talent 2014 by BritainsGotTalent09
10. Look Up by __gu76sZyWzDHosK2G__

On the channels front, gaming channel Pew Die Pie topped the log for the second time in as many years. South African comedian Trevor Noah, who recently secured a slot on the Daily Show in the US, saw his channel secure second place in the top ten. Both the SABC and eNCA also made the cut.

These are the top 10 most-viewed YouTube channels in South Africa in 2014:

1. PewDiePie
2. Trevor Noah
3. WatchMojo.com
4. CollegeHumor
5. beyonceVEVO
6. EminemVEVO
7. eNCAnews
8. TheEllenShow
9. KatyPerryVEVO
10. SABC Digital News

YouTube says that collectively the top 10 global videos received over 667 million views and that the channels that host them have more than 21 million subscribers between them.

You can find all of YouTube’s lists for the year on the YouTube Rewind 2014 Channel.