Popular short-form video app TikTok has expanded its presence in the living room, jumping into the home’s largest screen with a new integration on Vizio smart TVs.
Fans of TikTok videos will get a larger screen experience with a TikTok TV app that’s been purpose built for a TV home-viewing. The companies said the integration on all Vizio Smartcast TVs means direct access to videos across a wide range of categories such as gaming, comedy, food, and animals.
As part of the integration, Vizio users will be able to discover videos from TikTok creators and topics directly from the smart TV home screen without the need to download an app. Vizio is highlighting TikTok TV content on the smart TV homepage in a dedicated carousel that features popular trending genres to help find viewers discover videos more easily.
While not TikTok’s first smart TV integration, the custom carousel on the home screen is a first of its kind for TikTok genres on TV.
Those with a Vizio smart TV and existing TikTok account can link their accounts to gain access to videos in their ‘For You’ and ‘Following’ feeds on the TV screen. The TV app also offer AutoPlay, for a continuous content feed and no interruptions between videos.
“TikTok is a cultural phenomenon redefining the meaning of entertainment, music, and video alike. Extending this unique app off the mobile phone and onto the biggest screen in the home is an important evolution of the VIZIO TV experience,” said Katherine Pond, VP of Business Development at Vizio, in a statement. “The addition of the TikTok TV app invites families and friends to gather around the TV and immerse themselves in the latest viral videos, content from favorite creators, and discover new short-form videos in multiple categories.”
The integration marks the latest expansion for the leading short-form mobile video app, which last November added Google TV and other Android TV OS devices, LG smart TVs and Samsung smart TVs to its list of distribution partners. Last fall the service launched an app on the Amazon Fire TV platform in North America.
"We're excited to bring TikTok to even more screens with our integration with VIZIO, offering people a new way to experience the entertainment, joy, and creativity of TikTok together at home," said Dan Page, head of Global Business Development, New Screens at TikTok in a statement.
TikTok has had major success in the short-form video world, particularly with younger users and remains the dominant short-form video product across all ages, according to a June report from MoffettNathanson on short-form video in the U.S.
Posing the question if TikTok is really that big, the report states “The answer is yes. It is huge, dwarfing the reach of either Instagram Reels or Facebook Reels…”
The firm used data from Meta and TikTok’s Ads Managers, saying that TikTok looks to be particularly strong with younger audiences, reaching an estimated 52.6 million 18-24 year-olds per month in the U.S. That compares to an estimated 15.2 million for Instagram Reels and 3.2 million 18-24 year-olds on Facebook Reels in June, according to MoffettNathanson.
However, the firm stressed that it has “reason to be wary of the numbers that TikTok’s Ads Manager gives us,” noting that the reach of 52 million in that age category would translate to 173% penetration of the U.S. population in that demographic. The firm pointed to things like tourists and accounts with fake ages as potentially contributing to some of the overstatement but “neither should bring TikTok’s reach to nearly double the actual U.S. population.”
Duplicate accounts or bots could also be a reason for overstated numbers, and MoffettNathanson acknowledged it’s difficult to build tools to accurately screen for those factors, saying given the app's newness TikTok might have some serious work to do for better reporting metrics.
“Nevertheless, even with this healthy grain of salt added, it is still clear that TikTok is big and a force to be reckoned with,” wrote analyst Michael Nathanson.