TikTok, which led a global craze for short-form (short videos of about 15 seconds) content, is moving to strengthen long-form (long videos) content of 10 minutes or more with its own variety shows and drama. Short, addictive short form is effective at quickly attracting users and driving explosive views, but longer videos are also needed to generate stable revenue over the long term and build a loyal fan base.
Industry watchers say TikTok is accelerating platform expansion by introducing long form to catch up with YouTube, the world's No. 1 video platform.
On the 25th of this month, TikTok plans to unveil a Korea variety show on the theme of soccer, "Tikitiki Takataka Talk Talk Show" (hereafter "Tikitaka Show"). The "Tikitaka Show" is a battle-style talk variety centered on soccer, with former national team soccer player Ahn Jung-hwan, entertainer DinDin, and comedian Lee Eun-ji serving as MCs. It is TikTok's first original variety content produced in Korea and consists of 12 episodes. Each episode runs about 45 minutes, a length comparable to network variety shows. Considering that a typical TikTok video runs around 15 to 60 seconds, it is an unusually long format.
Timed to the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, which opens June 11, the "Tikitaka Show" is seen as a test bed to expand long-form content in Korea while boosting views and fan engagement for soccer content on TikTok. The plan is to grow soccer into a participatory sports entertainment genre that blends fans' interpretations, tastes, and cheering culture by covering topics from soccer issues trending among sports fans to predictions for the World Cup winner. Earlier, TikTok said it would invest more than $50 million (about 76 billion won) in Korea's content ecosystem this year, and sports was included among the key investment areas along with news and entertainment.
The move appears to be part of TikTok's strategy to evolve from a video-centric app into an all-in-one platform spanning content, commerce, and advertising. Industry observers say TikTok is adopting a strategy of growing long form and short form simultaneously, like YouTube, to increase users' in-app time and maximize advertising and shopping revenue. This is TikTok's first rollout in Korea of a self-produced, series-format long-form title, but in the United States and China it has continued attempts since 2022 to produce long-form content ranging from 10 minutes to 1 hour.
The biggest reason TikTok is pushing long-form content is profitability. Short form excels at sparking buzz and spreading quickly, but there is limited time to insert ads. YouTube videos, by contrast, are easier to monetize because they can carry various ad formats such as mid-roll ads, brand sponsorships, product placement (PPL), product showcases, and affiliate marketing. In response, TikTok has sequentially extended maximum video length since 2021 to 3, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes, and recently has supported posting videos up to 60 minutes for select creators or preproduced videos.
Content types on TikTok are also becoming more like YouTube. Originally a platform centered on short memes and dance videos, TikTok has, in recent years, seen a rapid increase in YouTube-style content such as interviews, vlogs, educational content, podcast videos, and travel reviews. Conversely, YouTube is focusing on strengthening its position in the short-form market through "Shorts." Both companies are aggressively adopting each other's strengths in short form and long form to capture both revenue and stickiness.
Long form also matters for nurturing popular influencers (creators) active on TikTok. Critics note that short videos rely heavily on virality and have short lifespans, making it hard to sustain a stable, loyal fan base. An industry official said, "Short form can play a role in attracting users early on, but to keep them around longer, you also need long-form content centered on deeper storytelling (narrative)."
High-quality long-form content makes it easier to build subscription-based communities, so advertisers tend to prefer creators who produce long-form content that drives user engagement over those who simply churn out short videos with high view counts.
This is also tied to TikTok's commerce strategy. Following its own e-commerce platform "TikTok Shop," TikTok recently launched the travel booking service "TikTok GO," accelerating its shift into a comprehensive platform where users can handle everything in-app from search to shopping and reservations. Industry watchers say product reviews and travel recommendations are better suited to long form than short form.
However, TikTok's long-form experiments have yet to produce a major success, drawing attention to its variety push in Korea. Depending on how the "Tikitaka Show" performs, TikTok's long-form expansion strategy could change.
TikTok has expanded investment in the Korean market in recent years, and user numbers have steadily grown as a result. According to Wiseapp Retail, TikTok's monthly active users (MAU) stood at 9.51 million as of last month, up 28.3% from 7.41 million a year earlier. TikTok Lite, a lighter version of the app, also reached 6.42 million monthly users last month thanks to a rewards model known as "app-tech" (app + personal finance). The user count rose 33.5% from a year earlier.
Chul Yoon, head of news and sports at TikTok Korea, said, "Starting with 'Tikitaka Show,' the first long-form original content we are unveiling in Korea, we will continue to try new content that combines sports and entertainment within the platform."