For those who are familiar with TikTok, you know it as an app filled mostly with short and silly videos. But the company is looking to switch things up by going in a different direction. Reports state that the Chinese version of TikTok, which is known as Douyin in China, has started to offer movie streaming.
According to Abacusnews, Douyin now allows users in China to stream full-length movies through the app. There are supposedly dozens of feature films available now, including The Last Emperor, Farewell My Concubine, and The Great Wall. Aside from movies, the app is looking to add a live talk show called Comedy Weekend Online. How it all started was when a movie studio decided not to show at the cinemas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and chose to premiere its movie "Lost in Russia" on Douyin instead.
With cinemas being forced to shut down in China and citizens stuck at home, online entertainment has seen a major uptick in usage too. This is likely the big motivator in bringing movies to the platform. If the move is successful, ByteDance (the company behind Douyin) could look into turning the app into China's version of Netflix or spin-off a new app to do so.
There's a chance that the regular version of TikTok could add movies too, though there hasn't been any announcement from the company. However, it would be nice if we could have an alternate source of entertainment during this time. With that said, what do you think about this move? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com.
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