Tencent takes on ByteDance with WeChat short video trial

Hong Kong

TENCENT is planning a major update to its WeChat messaging app to stave off up-and-comer ByteDance and counter the startup's growing dominance of short-form video.

WeChat, used by more than a billion people for everything from messaging to booking meals and movies, will soon add a feature that will enable users to publish video clips and photos to their followers via a feed not unlike Twitter's. This is a departure from the current format, which focuses on articles with accompanying visuals.

While it is unclear what the final product will look like, Tencent wants users to be able to share video and content directly with one another. It began on Monday inviting select individuals and organisations that run public accounts to test the feature.

A Tencent representative said the service will launch soon.

The foray into short-video publishing marks Tencent's latest endeavour to recover lost ground from ByteDance, which created social media phenomenon TikTok and its Chinese twin Douyin. The latter, which now serves 400 million daily active users in China, has hurt Tencent's bottom line by luring teens and advertisers away from WeChat.

ByteDance, the world's most valuable startup, is increasingly challenging Tencent's lead in Chinese social media thanks to its Toutiao news service and TikTok-Douyin. The two are sparring in a number of fields revolving around online content. ByteDance has quietly built up a 1,000-strong gaming division to spearhead a serious foray into hardcore or non-casual games, tackling Tencent on its home turf, Bloomberg News has reported.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Vey-Sern Ling said: "While Tencent's strategy to retain users and content makes sense, the company needs to tread carefully, because unrestricted short-video publishing may lead to content that is trashy and low-brow, and often also repetitive and non-differentiated." BLOOMBERG