Years after Twitter’s initial attempt to enter the TV app market met with a tepid reception, the platform’s new incarnation, X, is ready for another try. As part of a broader strategy to rejuvenate its advertising revenue, X has unveiled a new TV app, which will be available on “several app stores.” This move is intended to attract more advertisers, creators, and partners to its “video-first platform.”
X also plans to introduce a new video tab on its main platform, though it has not yet been launched.
Beta versions of the TV app have already appeared on Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, with reports confirming its availability on Amazon Fire TV. There is no indication yet of its presence on Apple TV, Roku, or other TV platforms.
This initiative, announced by Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino in April, comes at a crucial time for X as it grapples with a significant revenue shortfall. The company’s financial woes are exacerbated by concerns over increasing toxicity and declining user numbers. Fidelity, one of X’s major investors, slashed its valuation of the platform by up to 71.5% at the end of 2023, valuing it at $12.5 billion—substantially less than the $44 billion Elon Musk paid to acquire it.
In response, X filed an antitrust lawsuit in August against an advertising association, accusing its members of unfairly boycotting the platform. The advertiser group was disbanded shortly after the lawsuit was filed, but X’s legal battle appears to be ongoing.
The success of X’s latest video venture remains to be seen. Early screenshots suggest the TV app will feature a variety of content from organizations, publishers, and creators. However, many of these creators already distribute their content through their own platforms or YouTube, which has a larger audience for TV screen viewing.
This is not X’s first foray into TV apps. In 2016, under its previous branding as Twitter, the company launched several TV apps designed to let users watch live events and track trending conversations. Most of these apps were discontinued two years later as Twitter sought to streamline its operations. The user numbers for these apps at the time were not disclosed.
Despite the challenges, X remains committed to enhancing its video offerings. Before Elon Musk’s acquisition, Twitter introduced a full-screen, TikTok-like video feed. Users can still access full-screen mode to view and scroll through videos.
X’s current challenge is to encourage creators to produce original video content that will drive engagement and increase app usage. The platform’s ad revenue share program, introduced last year, is based on engagement and views, but it has faced criticism. For instance, YouTube creator MrBeast criticized the program’s payouts as “a bit of a facade” after earning $263,000 from ads, suggesting that such figures may be exceptional.
In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that even after discussions with creators, some remained uncertain about X’s long-term strategy for supporting the creator economy.
Musk has experimented with various video features, including video streaming on Spaces, video calls, and video conferencing tools, but none have yet emerged as significant revenue sources for the platform.
Philips Babatunde