X is Launching a YouTube Copycat Platform For Smart TVs, And Marketers Speculate It’s For a New Revenue Stream

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, announced that it is launching its own video platform for smart TVs.

As initially reported by Fortune, the platform is gearing up to compete with YouTube by adopting a video-first strategy, similar to the popular platform. Samsung and Amazon will be among the first platforms to feature this approach when the platform launches next week.

In the past year and a half, Elon Musk rebranded the platform as X and charged users, content creators, and brands for verification badges. The platform reinstated former US President Donald Trump, made it difficult to label content with ads, removed news headlines from articles, and banned third-party applications to make the platform less user-friendly. X responded with a poop emoji when asked for a comment on this story.

Marketers have speculated that the reason behind this step is that X is going to earn revenue from video apps in the future at a time when users of the app has slowly decreased after Musk’s takeover.

A Crowded Market Creates Challenges for X’s Video Platform

Madison Rogers, Creative Strategist at FUSE Create, expressed concerns about consumer adoption of another X bandwagon. Citing Musk’s takeover of Twitter and the subsequent X rebrand, Rogers highlighted a 15% decrease in monthly usage and a 54% decline in ad revenue as reasons for consumer hesitancy. Rogers suggested that advertisers should observe consumer response to the channel before making significant investments, as is customary with new platform launches. Rogers pointed out X previously invested in video tools like Periscope’s live streams, which they discontinued in 2021 due to insufficient usage.

“After a not-so successful rebrand, I think X will have a difficult time convincing consumers that this platform is worth their time, even with the weight of Musk’s name behind it,” said Rogers. “This is going to be an even more difficult elevator pitch to consumers since it isn’t filling a gap in the market. The video streaming service market is already very saturated. Consumers and advertisers already have a plethora of long-form video content platforms to choose from.”

Elon Musk has been working hard since last year’s Super Bowl to lure back advertisers to spend marketing dollars and enticing content creators with good payouts for joining Twitter Blue. With the way Musk has been unpredictable, marketers are also going on a wait and see approach to see if he will make drastic changes to its video platform.

“Musk’s approach to content moderation, especially regarding factual video news, could impact the platform’s reputation and attractiveness to advertisers,” said Stephanie Harris, founder and CEO of PartnerCentric, an independent partnership marketing agency. “Advertisers typically seek environments that are deemed safe and credible for their brands. To mitigate potential concerns, it would be essential for X to establish clear, transparent content policies and to apply them consistently.”

Joseph McConellogue, the CEO of Swell Media, emphasized that basic economics will solely determine the fluctuations in advertising costs on X’s video platform. McConellogue suggested that if advertising rates decrease, it would likely lead to an increase in investment from advertisers currently utilizing X’s platform. McConnellogue also added brands avoiding investments on X are likely to continue avoiding them in regards to how X will try to attract sponsors to its video platform.

“The real impact is going to be on existing advertisers and their creative teams, as ad units typically available on X via app/web are not going to be built for CTV,” said McConellogue. “They’re two different platforms each with a unique set of best practices.”

A Video-First Vision For X: Securing Content Moderation and Appealing to Advertisers

Elon Musk is seeking to capture a share of the long-format video market as Gen Z and Millennials increasingly turn to YouTube for videos and adopt cord-cutting habits. TikTok extends the reach of short-form video with 10-minute videos, while YouTube and Twitch continue to thrive. Advertisers are shifting their focus based on the community and engagement offered by long-form content.

Despite Elon’s vision for X as a video-first platform, he has censored factual video news for quite some time. In light of this approach, X’s video platform may have difficulty managing content moderation as it prepares to launch in the video media market. This raises questions about its future trajectory.

Musk’s approach to content moderation, particularly when it comes to factual video news, could affect the platform’s attractiveness to advertisers, Harris said. For advertisers, a safe and credible environment is essential for their brands. To mitigate potential concerns, X must establish clear and transparent content policies, and apply them consistently.

“Building a reputation for fairness and reliability could help attract and retain both content creators and advertisers, ensuring a diverse and dynamic content ecosystem,” said Harris.

“For this new platform to succeed for Musk, he’ll have to offer something that the other long-standing, long-format platforms can’t,” said Rogers. “This may be difficult for X to make a pivot to video since consumers associate the platform with text-based content, and they have a long-standing history of having issues embedding video content on their platform. So, it’s safe to say consumers [don’t] associate X with long-form video.”