The Chinese social network expands into long-form content to attract new creators and viewers, amplifying competition with YouTube.
TikTok has confirmed that it is testing the ability for users to upload videos up to 60 minutes. The feature is available to a limited group of users in select markets, and the company has no immediate plans for a wide release of the feature.
Open war on YouTube
The new feature, first discovered by social media consultant Matt Navarra, represents a significant change from TikTok’s original format. At launch, the app only allowed uploading 15-second videos, but over the years the limit has been progressively increased. This move towards longer content aims to directly compete with YouTube, known for its long-form video format.
TikTok said that while creators can already create stories split into multiple videos inviting viewers to follow the next part, many creators are asking for more time for content like cooking demonstrations, beauty tutorials, educational lessons, comedy sketches and more. The goal of increasing the time limit is to give creators the opportunity to experiment with new types of content with more flexibility.
This move puts TikTok in even more direct competition with YouTube. By offering creators the ability to upload 60-minute videos, TikTok hopes that those who normally post on YouTube will start sharing their content on its platform as well. This change it could also enable the publication of new types of contentlike full episodes of TV series.
Last year, Peacock made the first episode of Killing It available for free on TikTok, but split it into five parts. With the new 60-minute limit, TV networks would no longer have to split episodes into multiple parts. Many networks already upload the first episode of a series to YouTube to attract new viewers, and with the new time limit, they could do the same on TikTok.
While not all users will be interested in watching longer content on TikTok, the company is trying to improve the viewing experience for those who watch long-form videos. TikTok tested a horizontal full-screen mode and video thumbnails for scrubbing. Additionally, a feature was introduced last year that allows you to fast-forward through videos by holding down the right side of the video.
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