In a bid to compete with the likes of YouTube, Elon Musk’s X has announced that it will be launching a TV app that will initially be accessed with Amazon and Samsung Smart TVs. The service will look identical to YouTube’s offering. With many companies offering subscription streaming or ad-funded services, (such as  Freevee, Netflix, Paramount +, and Disney +), X will need to offer a unique proposition to get users watching.  

This marks a shift in X’s strategy; the focus has moved to diversifying revenue streams with ad sales, from the platform decreasing at least 55% each month YoY since Musk’s takeover in October 2022. Ad sales make up the majority of X’s total revenue (between 70-75%), and the company targeted $3bn from advertising and subscriptions in 2023 that X will fall short of in 2023. 

X wants users to watch more long-form videos on the platform, having recently enabled long-form uploads. In a blog post from X, the business team positions X as a ‘video first platform’ with stats showing that users watched more than 130 years' worth of videos that were 30 minutes or longer in December. When it was formerly Twitter, the platform offered exclusive videos within sport – signing on to stream 10 NFL games in 2016 and launching live-streaming apps for Apple TV, Xbox One, and Amazon Fire TV.

The company has also begun adding an audio and video calling functionality to the platform, alongside a video-feed option which means that a host can appear on video while chatting live, similar to Twitch.

It’s likely Musk is seeking to emulate the success of China’s WeChat or Careem in the Middle East as companies seek to offer a one-stop shop for consumers’ needs – from shopping, socialising to food delivery and financial services. These Super Apps have the power to transform the way consumers go about meeting their daily needs; they have seen the highest growth in emerging markets and offer financial inclusion to unbanked individuals through access to financial services. How X will seek to monetise this and regain losses in advertising funding remains to be seen, so watch this space!