Elon Musk’s X Enters Streaming Wars, Launches Smart TV App to Rival YouTube

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, is making bold strides into the video streaming space with ambitions to challenge YouTube. In a move that highlights this shift, Musk personally invited YouTube’s most popular creator, MrBeast, to start uploading full-length videos on X.

This marks a significant step in Musk’s vision to transform X into a video-centric platform. Earlier this year, X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, announced that the platform would focus on video content, positioning X as a “video-first” service.

In line with this strategy, X has rolled out a smart TV app, allowing users to watch videos uploaded to the platform directly on their television screens. This new development signifies X’s efforts to expand its video content ecosystem and boost user engagement with larger formats.

On Monday, Musk introduced the beta version of X TV, marking the platform's official move toward video as a core offering. The app is now available on Google Play, Amazon’s Appstore, and LG’s content store for smart TVs, though it has yet to launch on Apple TV.

X TV provides access to both uploaded videos and live streams, allowing users to log in using their X credentials. Previously, users could only watch X’s video content on TV by casting it from their smartphones.

Musk’s broader vision for X is to evolve it into an all-encompassing platform, extending beyond social media to include services like banking, aligning with his concept of an “everything” app.

Source: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi / Innovation Village