Company X of Elon Musk (Elon Musk), owner of the social network of the same name, will soon launch an application for SmartTV, Fortune reported, citing a knowledgeable source. The source said the app will be released next week and looks “identical” to YouTube’s TV app. The program will initially be available on Amazon and Samsung TVs.

Musk’s goal is to turn X into a video platform that can compete with YouTube, giving users the ability to watch “long-form videos on the big screen.” The move is part of a plan announced in July to make X more attractive to online influencers and advertisers. According to the source, Musk plans to compete with services such as Twitch, Signal and social platform Reddit, as well as YouTube.

The idea of ​​expanding the microblogging service’s availability to TV screens is not new. Before that, Twitter launched TV shows at least three times: The first versions were released on the now-defunct Google TV platform in 2010 and on the Samsung Smart Hub platform for SmartTV in 2011. The company launched video streaming apps for Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Xbox One after signing a deal to stream 10 NFL games in 2016.

Fortune notes that Musk focuses on media celebrities, online influencers, and online video game streaming. The company recently hired former CNN star Don Lemon to launch a new X-exclusive show, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has frequently appeared on X, including Putin’s recent interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. publishes long-form videos

Musk encouraged creators to move their video content to X, arguing that they would benefit from increased ad revenue streams. Nearly half of YouTube users in the US will reportedly watch their videos on TVs in 2023, and Nielsen reported that YouTube was the largest streaming service in the US with 8.6% of views on TV screens in January. For comparison, on Netflix this indicator is equal to 7.9%.

At the same time, social network X continues to lose users and advertisers. According to a recent study by Edison Research, usage of the platform dropped by 30% last year.