Paying to dodge ads is now a social media personality trait.
TikTok is no different: The platform has launched an ad-free subscription tier in the UK for £3.99/month, rolling out gradually to users 18 and over.
If the experiment works, the ad pool will shrink with paying subscribers opting out. But those who stay on the free tier have accepted the deal, which could make them more receptive.
UK small businesses pulled in £1.2B in revenue through the platform, signalling that the ad business is very much alive. It’s just getting a little more selective about who it talks to.
Amazon just got TikToked: Prime Video’s new Clips feature is the latest platform to build vertical, personalized feeds for content discovery.
Clips surfaces bite-sized previews based on viewing history, each with a direct CTA to watch, rent, or buy.
As sponsored clips and native-style ads enter these feeds, they’ll sit where attention already is. Those eyes are primed and ready. Get it? Primed?
That’s a natural fit if you’re an entertainment, retail, or subscription brand trying to close the gap between discovery and purchase.
And YouTube is moving the furniture around: A new mobile UI test moves Subscriptions to the top of the screen as a swipeable tab next to the Home feed.
If it rolls out widely, channels with loyal audiences win the most visible real estate on the app.
Content that converts casual viewers into subscribers might become more valuable than content optimized purely for discovery. Sounds good. In theory.
