SAN FRANCISCO, March 1 – Yesterday, TikTok began allowing users to upload videos up to 10 minutes in length, further challenging the nascent platform of the veteran YouTube giant.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has introduced a one-minute limit for uploaded videos, but raised the limit to three minutes last year.
“Today we are excited to begin rolling out the ability to upload videos up to 10 minutes in length,” TikTok said in response to an AFP survey.
“We hope this will further stimulate the creativity of our creators around the world.”
TikTok has more than tripled the length of videos, as the parent Meta on YouTube and Facebook scramble to take on the rival with shortened content options and incentives for creators whose posts appeal to audiences.
“YouTube is still ahead of TikTok in terms of time spent, but it is not immune to the influence of TikTok,” Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg told AFP.
“The time gap between the two platforms is narrow, and longer videos can help TikTok catch up in terms of interest and engagement.”
The analyst added that longer videos can also help TikTok creators earn more money and boost the platforms’ advertising business.
YouTube recently set goals for this year, including making life easier for content creators and boosting the popular format that rivals TikTok.
The video-sharing platform is investing in short, live videos, as well as tools to help creators make money and produce new content, according to product manager Neil Mohan.
“YouTube creators are the heart and soul of the platform,” Mohan said in a blog post.
“To give them every opportunity possible, we will continue to invest in our multiple formats.”
Short form content like video snippets which is a winning element of TikTok is incredibly popular. According to Mohan, the YouTube concept, called “shorts,” has garnered more than five trillion views ever.
Short videos, usually created with smartphones, can be up to 60 seconds in length, with music and comedy as popular themes.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has its own version of the offering called Reels, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg says is a priority for the tech company and is growing rapidly. -AFP
