X Enhances Video Strategy by Introducing a TV App

Years ago, Twitter ventured into the world of TV apps, aiming to extend its influence and capture new audiences. However, after receiving a tepid response, the company eventually abandoned the initiative. Now, under its new identity as X, the platform is revisiting this strategy as it struggles to revive its flagging advertising business. X recently announced the launch of a new TV app, available on several app stores, marking a broader effort to attract more advertisers, creators, and partners with a shift towards a video-centric platform.

This renewed focus on video content includes the introduction of a new video tab on the X app, although this feature has yet to be officially rolled out. Users have already reported seeing a beta version of the TV app on platforms like Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, with X confirming its presence on Amazon Fire TV. However, the app has yet to appear on other popular platforms such as Apple TV and Roku. The plans for these TV apps were initially unveiled by Twitter’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, in April of this year.

X's renewed interest in TV apps and video content comes at a critical juncture for the company, which is facing significant challenges on the revenue front. The platform's advertising business has been severely impacted by concerns over increasing toxicity and declining user numbers. This downturn led Fidelity, a major investor, to mark down the valuation of its investment in X by a staggering 71.5% at the end of 2023, reducing X's implied value to $12.5 billion—dramatically lower than the $44 billion Elon Musk paid when he took the company private.

In an effort to combat these financial struggles, X filed an antitrust lawsuit in August against an advertising association, accusing its members of unfairly boycotting the platform. Although the advertiser group disbanded shortly after the lawsuit was filed, X appears to be continuing with the legal action. Whether X’s pivot to a video-first strategy will be enough to offset its current financial woes remains uncertain. The TV app appears to feature videos from various organizations, publishers, and creators, potentially overlapping with content available on other platforms like YouTube, which boasts a much larger audience for TV-based content consumption.

This is not X’s first attempt to leverage TV apps to boost engagement. In 2016, when it was still known as Twitter, the company launched a series of TV apps designed to allow users to watch live events and see real-time discussions. However, these apps were shut down just two years later as the company moved to eliminate less profitable ventures. It remains unclear how successful these earlier apps were in terms of user engagement.

Despite the challenges, video content has consistently represented a lucrative, albeit elusive, opportunity for the platform. Prior to Musk’s acquisition, Twitter experimented with features like a TikTok-inspired full-screen feed, which allowed users to tap on a video, switch to full-screen mode, and scroll through additional clips. While these features were well-received, they did not fundamentally transform the platform's user engagement or revenue model.

X now faces the challenge of encouraging creators to produce original video content that is compelling enough to drive user engagement and increase usage of its apps. However, the platform has struggled to provide clear incentives or a cohesive strategy to support the creator economy. Although X introduced an ad revenue-sharing program last year, the payouts are based on engagement and views, which can be unpredictable and vary widely. For example, when YouTube creator MrBeast earned $263,000 from ad revenues, he criticized the payout as potentially misleading, as it could be an outlier rather than a consistent earning model.

Musk has also experimented with other video-related features, such as enabling video streaming on Spaces, allowing video calls between users, and testing a video conferencing tool. Despite these efforts, X has yet to develop these features into significant revenue streams or capitalize on them as part of a broader monetization strategy. As X pushes forward with its video-first approach, the platform's success will hinge on its ability to attract and retain creators who can deliver the compelling content necessary to engage users and entice advertisers. Whether this strategy will ultimately help X regain its footing in the highly competitive digital landscape remains to be seen.