It’s been coming for some time, however Twitter has right now confirmed that Twitter Blue subscribers – all 650k of them – can now add movies as much as two hours lengthy within the app.
As per Twitter:
“Subscribers can upload videos up to 2 hours long (1080p) on twitter.com and Twitter for iOS. Subscribers can upload videos up to 10 minutes long on Android. If you aren’t a Twitter Blue subscriber, you can still upload videos up to 140 seconds long on any platform.”
So a fairly large discrepancy there – simply over 2 minutes of add capability without cost customers, however movie-length uploads for paying subscribers.
Which might be appropriately – although, evidently, that hasn’t been a lot of an enticement for Twitter Blue subscribers simply but, on condition that Twitter added hour-long uploads into the Twitter Blue providing back in December, and up to now, solely about 0.3% of Twitter customers have signed as much as the $8 monthly package deal.
However then once more, once you additionally contemplate that 80% of Twitter users don’t ever post anything to the app, Twitter solely must get that small share of lively customers to pay up and begin posting longer clips for this to be of profit, not less than to some extent.
With the appointment of NBCU exec Linda Yaccarino because the new CEO of the company, Twitter additionally appears to be trying to make video content material an even bigger focus, with Tucker Carlson’s new Twitter show probably simply the primary in a brand new collection of unique video content material additions.
Twitter chief Elon Musk has lengthy talked about Twitter competing with YouTube for video talent, and perhaps, utilizing Yaccarino’s expertise in constructing a subscription TV service (Peacock), the corporate will now look to truly enact this, and push video content material to the forefront within the app.
Which gained’t be straightforward, and the motivation actually isn’t there as but to get creators posting unique content material to the app. But when Twitter can set up a brand new income share program – one other ingredient that Musk has talked about – then it might be a extra viable path ahead in bringing extra viewers to the app, and constructing its advert alternatives.
Although viewers attain will not be the factor that’s conserving advertisers away from Twitter proper now. Twitter has misplaced round 50% of its top advertisers since Musk took over, resulting from considerations together with his strategy to ‘free speech’, and the content material, and customers, that he’s permitting to stay lively within the app.
Advertisers don’t need their promotions showing alongside offensive materials, whereas Twitter can be permitting advertisements to be topic to Neighborhood Notes, the place customers can refute the claims made in them – which Musk additionally says has lost Twitter some of its big spenders.
With this in thoughts, it could not matter if Twitter can construct its video viewers – however then once more, typically, if in case you have giant sufficient attain, advertisers will observe, whatever the perceived dangers.
Yaccarino additionally has way more expertise that Elon on this entrance, and he or she may look to shift Twitter’s course extra of their favor, which is probably going one other key ingredient of her appointment.
No matter comes subsequent, it appears clear that video will play a giant function, and longer uploads are one other piece of that puzzle, which may assist to shift consumer behaviors.