Short video apps like TikTok are changing entertainment in China

The Tiktokification of video streaming is just the latest trend upending entertainment

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TikTok is the dominant short video platform in the world. Its Chinese version, Douyin, and many other similar apps rule China. (Picture: SCMP)

Masha Borak

Published: 11:16pm, 16 Jan 2020Updated: 6:18pm, 16 Feb 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

When House of Cards premiered in 2013, it was the first time Netflix had dropped an entire season of an original show online at once. Binge-watching was born.

Since then, TV has been transformed. And not just in the way we consume it, but also in the way it’s made. It’s not just happening on Netflix, Hulu and Disney+, either. China has been witnessing its own flavor of streaming-induced changes to entertainment, and some of those changes are spreading beyond its borders.

One of the more intriguing developments is the "Tiktokification" of entertainment.

TikTok, the viral short video sensation, has its roots in China

Short video apps like TikTok, the only Chinese app to find widespread global popularity, have witnessed a surge in popularity in China. And for the first time, people are spending more time watching short videos than longer content, according to a 2019 industry survey from the China Television Drama Production Industry Association.

The next development trend is the “integration and symbiosis” of short and long video formats, the report says, and it could hit popular streaming platforms such as Baidu-owned iQiyi, Alibaba’s Youku and Tencent Video.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)

“Short videos and self-produced content, especially those created by KOLs, have been gaining much popularity,” said Wilson Chow, head of global technology, media and telecommunications at PwC.