Reddit is developing a new "video Reddit" experience that will allow users to watch and listen to viral posts, mimicking features seen on platforms like TikTok. CEO Steve Huffman noted the growing trend of Reddit content being narrated and paired with unrelated videos on other sites.
Reddit's move to incorporate video and audio feeds signifies its effort to adapt to evolving user consumption habits and compete with dominant short-form video platforms, potentially increasing engagement and ad revenue.
Reddit is exploring a new content format that mirrors TikTok's approach, aiming to allow users to watch and listen to viral posts. During its second-quarter earnings call, CEO Steve Huffman revealed that the company is developing a "video Reddit" experience. He noted that a significant trend exists on other platforms where Reddit content is narrated and paired with videos, a format he believes could be highly engaging.
Huffman pointed to the millions of posts on TikTok tagged with #reddit and #redditstories, which often feature text-to-speech narrations of Reddit stories accompanied by unrelated visuals. The company plans to have a test version of this new feature available later this year, though its integration into the main Reddit app remains unclear.
This move aligns with a broader trend across social and entertainment platforms, including Facebook, Netflix, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, Amazon, and LinkedIn, which are all experimenting with or have already integrated TikTok-like short video feeds. Reddit also highlighted the early success of its video-in-comments feature, launched in June, which now constitutes over 10% of its video posts.