There is very little left of the old Twitter X. Elon Musk (and live, AI, messaging… X has it all, but the written word is still the main character. But that’s about to change, because the goal of X is ultimately for the platform to be an app first video.

Video. Everything is video now. Years ago, it was said that content was generally king, but today that statement has been made more specific thanks to video. YouTube is the king of horizontal video and TikTok is the king of vertical video, but each is trying to gain ground on the other. YouTube has its own TikTok called Shorts; TikTok lets you upload long videos horizontally.

Then there is Instagram, which has gradually taken its origin, that is, photos, to the background, so that the application revolves around stories and reels. So much so that the “+” button in the middle encourages us to upload reels directly. Moreover, when we click on that button and select the images, they will be uploaded in real. excitement X also tried to follow a similar path.

Switching from X to video. Since Elon Musk’s arrival, the move into video has been evident. The platform has started allowing longer, higher-resolution videos. It has also started paying some creators to encourage them to upload their content there. Similarly, it has implemented a video feed similar to TikTok, where users can swipe up while watching a video to continue watching more. Not to mention the direct ones, which are now only for paying users.

Live event on X TV | Image: X TV

Next step: Television. Given what we’ve seen, it’s natural for Musk to want to turn X into a video platform. Video not only holds viewership over a quick text post, but it also supports a wider variety of ad formats. It’s an entertaining source of revenue, and TV is capital in terms of viewership numbers. For the record, YouTube gets 1 billion TV views every day. Its usage has grown so much that the percentage of creators who get the majority of their visits from TV has increased by 400% in recent years.

XTV. That’s why it’s not surprising that X has announced its new app for Smart TVs, X TV. The beta version is currently available on the Google Play Store, Amazon Fire TV, and LG webOS, with more expected to follow soon. Along with this app, X has also announced a future “Video” tab that will feature user-uploaded content with an aesthetic that’s very reminiscent of YouTube. According to the company:

“This marks a major step forward in transforming X into a video-first platform and unlocking new opportunities for creators, advertisers, and our partners.

many doubts. While we haven’t been able to test it ourselves, there are a lot of challenges ahead for X TV. Beyond just knowing how it will work, what content will be displayed, and how to get the user to the content they want to see (because go up against YouTube, Twitch, and the fledgling Kick, and that’s not going to be easy).

Cover image | X

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