TikTok has started testing the uploading of long hour-long videos, and YouTube is unlikely to like it.
The feature is available in a limited list of countries, but will not be widely available in the near future, the company says (via TechCrunch).
For the first time noticed social media consultant Matt Navarra — and it symbolizes a departure from TikTok’s traditional positioning as a platform with short videos. Earlier, other media giants tried to adopt the social network format — YouTube has launched Shorts, а Meta added Reels to Instagram.
Initially, TikTok offered 15-second videos for download, but has slightly increased the format in recent years. According to the company, videos lasting up to an hour will allow users to form stories in several parts, or provide more time for various workshops, comedy sketches, or even extended episodes of TV shows (last year, the American streaming service Peacock added the debut episode of the sitcom «Killing It» — to the platform, although it had to be split into five parts).
Many networks upload the first episodes of a show to YouTube to attract new users to their platforms — now Google’s video platform may have a worthy competitor with a huge audience.
At the same time, the social network owned by China’s ByteDance is currently in big trouble in the US — the authorities may ban the app, if it is not acquired by a local owner. One of the main candidates is American businessman Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and CEO of the McCourt Global investment company.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts evaluate TikTok’s U.S. assets of $35-40 billion. However, the social network is not going to give up so easily, and has filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the law on a potential ban.