TikTok Trials 60-Minute Videos, Posing Threat to YouTube

TikTok is experimenting with allowing certain users to upload longer videos, extending up to 60 minutes in duration. This initiative could present a major challenge to YouTube and other streaming giants.

Social Media Consultant and Tech newsletter writer Matt Navarra was the first to publicly discover the pilot, and it was officially confirmed by TikTok on Thursday.

No details have been disclosed regarding the regions where the update is currently available or if and when it might be extended to additional users. However, the company stated that it does not have plans to widely introduce the 60-minute feature yet.

The latest update underscores the ongoing focus of the Chinese-owned social media platform to broaden its product range while user growth declines. Originally, creators were limited to posting 15-second videos upon its launch. However, the platform has since extended the limit to 10 minutes for all users and up to 15 minutes for select creators. Competitors like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts also have similar upload durations on offer.

By conducting this trial, TikTok steps into the battlefield with YouTube. This move would empower content creators to upload videos needing longer durations, such as in-depth tutorials or family and college vlogs, which do well on YouTube.

In terms of overall users in the U.S., YouTube is ahead in the game. Last year, 83% of surveyed U.S. adults told the Pew Research Center that they had used YouTube, while for TikTok it was 33%. The demographic of users on short-form streaming platforms tends to lean toward the younger bracket, with 62% of individuals ages 18 to 29 reporting that they use TikTok, according to Pew, though 93% of users within the same age group said they use YouTube.

However, in terms of minutes watched, TikTok outpaces YouTube: eMarketer projected last year that by 2024, adult TikTok users would spend an average of 55 minutes daily on the platform — five minutes more than YouTube’s average.

In December, eMarketer analyst Sara Lebow wrote, “Because of TikTok’s shorter content, the platform risks users discovering clipped content and leaving the platform to watch the full version on YouTube.” She added, “Increasing video length could prevent a user from watching half of a video essay on TikTok and finishing the content on YouTube.”

The extended duration of videos on the platform could also pose a threat to streaming giants such as Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix. TikTok features a broad collection of unofficially uploaded short clips from well-known television shows and movies, which users often binge-watch to catch glimpses of the full content. The availability of longer videos from these shows could further popularize this trend.