According to reports, X is gearing up to introduce a television app tailored for smart TVs in a move to rival YouTube. Fortune, citing an unnamed employee of Elon Musk’s media platform, stated on March 8th that the app is likely to make its debut on Amazon and Samsung televisions in the near future.
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The source revealed Musk’s objective to encourage users to enjoy X’s lengthier videos on larger screens, noting that the new app is expected to closely resemble YouTube’s television app. Additionally, the report indicates Musk’s aspirations to compete with other services like Twitch, Signal, and Reddit.
Musk himself reiterated these intentions on X, stating, “We just want people to be able to watch long videos in comfort on their big screen TV.”
X’s initiative to capture the attention of smart TV owners aligns with the growing prevalence of such devices among consumers.
Research indicates that, on average, consumers own six connected devices, with millennials and bridge millennials leading the pack at an average of seven devices. Furthermore, ownership of connected devices tends to increase with income levels, with high-income consumers typically owning seven devices compared to the four owned by the low-income group.
While smartphones remain the most ubiquitous connected device, owned by 85% of consumers, smart TVs rank second, with 65% of consumers owning one.
Since Musk’s acquisition of X, formerly Twitter, he has been actively seeking ways to transform the platform into his envisioned “everything app,” despite ongoing declines in user and advertiser numbers.
The multibillionaire said last week that X could soon receive money transmitter licenses from New York and California, which would bring the company closer to offering payments services in those states. Earlier this year, X said it aimed to offer peer-to-peer payments on its platform.
“X is not just another app — it’s becoming the everything app, seamlessly uniting experiences into one interface, for everyone,” the company wrote in a blog post.
Musk reportedly spoke last year of his plans for the company to become a payments super app during a company meeting.
“If it involves money, it’ll be on our platform,” he said. “Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like sending $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.
“It would blow my mind if we don’t have that rolled out by the end of next year,” Musk added.
