What you need to know
- X, formerly Twitter, is reportedly developing a TV app for smart TVs, bringing YouTube-style long-form videos to the platform.
- Initially, X’s video app is said to debut exclusively on Amazon and Samsung smart TVs.
- Musk confirmed the upcoming TV app in response to an X post.
Get ready for some YouTube-style long-form videos on your smart TV, courtesy of X (formerly Twitter). Fortune reports that the service is cooking up a TV app specifically designed for smart TVs.
Elon Musk spilled the beans on this upcoming feature in a post on the platform in response to an X post discussing the possibility of watching lengthy videos on smart TVs soon.
The app might bear a resemblance to the YouTube TV app, as reported by Fortune. An unnamed source mentioned Musk’s determination to take on YouTube and that the app might arrive as early as this week.
Initially, X’s upcoming video app is set to make its debut exclusively on Amazon and Samsung smart TVs, as per the report.
This move is seen as a piece of the billionaire’s grand plan to turn X into the ultimate “everything app.” X already has your back with video and audio calls, even for free users.
For $8 a month, premium users also score some sweet perks, including the coveted verified badge, an edit button, longer posts, and more.
The report comes a few months after X announced in a blog post a shift from its text-based origins, proudly stating that it’s now a “video-first platform.” Users can now upload long-form videos to the platform, the company noted.
As part of Musk’s push to amp up longer-form content on the platform, he roped in the popular YouTuber MrBeast to drop a video on X. According to the content creator, the single upload raked in $250,000 in revenue.
MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000! 😲But it’s a bit of a facade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience pic.twitter.com/nViVpZbWBbJanuary 22, 2024
Having said that, the YouTuber provided full disclosure, saying that advertisers took notice of the video’s traction, leading them to purchase ads, likely boosting their revenue per view compared to others’ experiences.
X also signed a deal with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who is preparing to launch an exclusive new show on X in March.
Musk kept the specifics of the upcoming service under wraps. It’s still unclear how X intends to take on YouTube and whether it will be accessible to all for free or confined to the premium version.
