TikTok’s viewers say they don’t want lengthier films, but TikTok’s CEO claims that the company has to make more money from advertising to justify the length of its videos.
In recent months, TikTok has been experimenting with longer and longer films, frequently running up to 10 minutes. Although TikTok users complain about the videos, it doesn’t appear to care that they’re on par with those on YouTube.
TikTok’s business model is simple: the more commercials it sells, the more money it makes. According to a WIRED article, you don’t need to think about it any farther than that.
That’s what TikTok is counting on. The software can only go so far with short videos. Longer videos, which attract more attention and allow for more ad income, are necessary for TikTok to continue growing its revenue despite its meteoric rise to the top of app stores throughout the globe. An industry analyst who worked for Vine before the app’s demise tells Forbes that if TikTok’s average view duration increases by a fraction of a second, “conventional marketers may feel that they have more flexibility, and tech is always seeking for as much income as possible,” she adds.
In other words, even if TikTok’s market research shows that “films more than a minute in length were stressful,” it won’t be long until we’re viewing lengthier TikTok videos.
Just a month following that discovery, TikTok increased the length of its minute-long movies to three minutes, plainly demonstrating that advertising is more crucial. Is it possible that TikTok is causing people so much worry that they won’t return for more cat videos? At danger of losing its crown as the finest iPhone app for short-form video.