Twitter owner Elon Musk is planning to place more emphasis on video on the platform going forward. According to reports from sources including Reuters, Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino and Musk hosted an investor presentation last week where they discussed plans to pivot to towards social video. Musk reaffirmed this direction of travel on Twitter over the weekend, telling followers video “is coming”.
More specifically, Mush said a Twitter app for smart TVs is in the works – as the company seeks to solidify its ad proposition. As part of the platform’s shift towards video, it will also look to work with more creators and build up brand partnerships.
According to Reuters, which has seen the Twitter investor presentation, around 10% of the time spent on the platform currently is attributable to vertical video. A recent video-based addition to the platform is ‘Tucker on Twitter’ a show from former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Yaccarino is reported to have told investors that the business is in early conversations with political and entertainment figures, payments services and news and media publications on possible partnerships.
In theory, Twitter’s shift to video is good news for creators, which currently find it difficult to generate significant revenues from leading platforms like YouTube and Twitch. With TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and Kick also keen to woo creators, it’s possible that there will soon be more favourable business terms for top talent. That said, fragmented social audiences may make it harder for creators to aggregate audiences.
