Musk’s X to Launch Connected TV App in Video Push

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk’s social platform X is launching a TV app, pushing deeper into video and entertainment content as it takes on the likes of Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube.

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X didn’t confirm a date for the platform’s release but said it would be “coming soon to most smart TVs.” Additionally, the company touted the ability to cast video from smartphones to bigger TV screens, through the app — a move that Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.com Inc. have also made in recent months to allow use of their own operating systems to be more compatible with sharing video content to other devices.

As part of that video push, X announced several high-profile partnerships earlier this year to get more professionally produced video onto the service. One of those deals, an arrangement with former CNN anchor Don Lemon for an exclusive show, fell apart after Lemon interviewed Musk on camera.

“We do plan to monetize it, and will discuss different forms of partnerships — and that may include ads,” X said in a separate memo to potential customers and partners they’re targeting.

Musk has been pushing X, formerly known as Twitter, to move beyond a text and image-based social platform to more of a so-called “everything app.” That’s been driven, in part, by advertiser flight and the need to find new streams of revenue and differentiate the platform. He’s previously identified YouTube and Microsoft Corp.’s professional network LinkedIn as targets for X.

In the last 30 days, users have watched 23 billion minutes worth of video on X, the company said.

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