TikTok is launching its first TV app, called “More on TikTok,” on Amazon Fire TV devices today (via Business Insider). The app will have curated video playlists and compilations from the mobile TikTok app, Amazon spokesperson Delaney Simmons confirmed in an email to The Verge. It will also include interviews with creators, along with other content that runs over the one-minute limit of TikTok’s mobile app.
“We’ve been thinking through what the adoption of streaming devices like Fire TV means for connecting with our users and how we can offer them more dynamic experiences, and we feel bringing our content to the TV to some extent is a natural next step,” Nick Tran, head of global marketing for TikTok, said in an email to The Verge.
According to Business Insider, TikTok is experimenting to determine how well its mobile video format works on TV screens. More on TikTok is a view-only channel, so no login or account information is required, and users won’t be able to upload videos or exchange coins. It will be free to use and won’t have ads at launch.
In addition, the TV app will have two new content categories: “In the Studio,” which will have interviews with stars on TikTok, and “This is TikTok,” which will spotlight creators.
Amazon says it saw a sharp increase in usage for mobile-first Fire TV apps like Facebook Watch, Peloton, MasterClass, and Audible during the first six months of the year, due mainly to people staying home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The More on TikTok app is now available via all Fire TV devices in the US. Users can just say “Alexa, open More on TikTok” to activate.
Microsoft said Sunday it was in talks to buy part of TikTok from parent company ByteDance, which is based in China, after President Trump had threatened to ban TikTok in the US. On Wednesday, rival Instagram launched its TikTok competitor, called Reels, in 50 countries.
