According to research from Omdia, TikTok has overtaken Netflix as the second most popular video service among under-35s in the United States. Only YouTube remains ahead of TikTok in the rankings of over-35s, however.
The research also showed that in the UK and France, TikTok is the fifth most popular video service overall. In both markets, YouTube remains the most popular platform, which explains why the app is not performing in the top ten. Omdia also found that the amount of time people spent watching video content increased by nine minutes in 2021. Overall, that translates into more than 60 minutes per person per day.
TikTok’s rapid growth has been astounding, but the company is not alone in the social video space. Other popular apps are incorporating TikTok’s features to attract new users and retain their current ones. Some stand-alone competitors include Moj and Kwai. Meanwhile, ByteDance plans to focus on building a creator ecosystem on top of TikTok.
However, some users say that TikTok is no longer free from government control. While TikTok has taken measures to address these concerns, they have not completely eliminated the risk. The company’s decision-makers work in a country known for censorship, propaganda and suppression of dissent. This crisis of trust is contributing to an ongoing debate among U.S. regulators over whether or not to monitor TikTok and potentially ban it.
In addition to its popularity, TikTok has also managed to garner a huge amount of attention from consumers. In a recent survey conducted by Omdia, the company found that consumers spend an average of 5.06 minutes per session on the platform. In addition to watching videos, users also engage with news and content. These are just a few of the ways in which the app can provide value to advertisers.
The recent numbers are a testament to the popularity of TikTok, which has received over 176 million downloads since its launch in September. No other app has received more downloads since the start of this year. Prior to TikTok, Instagram had the highest number of downloads.
