TikTok Videos Now on Out-of-Home Screens - Atmosphere Partnership

TikTok Expands Reach with Atmosphere Partnership for Commercial Venues

TikTok, the immensely popular mobile video platform boasting over 1 billion users, is actively extending its presence beyond mobile devices. The company has begun integrating a new app, TikTok TV, with platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Android TV OS devices, LG Smart TVs, and Samsung Smart TVs.

A new strategic alliance with Atmosphere, a startup specializing in licensed and curated streamed video content for businesses, marks another step in this expansion. Atmosphere serves locations such as Westin hotels, Taco Bell restaurants, Texas Roadhouse establishments, doctors’ offices, and gyms.

A Dedicated TikTok Channel on Atmosphere

The initial phase of this collaboration involves Atmosphere developing a dedicated channel featuring curated TikTok videos. This represents the first instance of TikTok content being utilized within an out-of-home video service.

“TikTok has evolved into a hub for over a billion individuals seeking entertainment, inspiration, and community,” stated Dan Page, Head of Global Business Development, New Screens at TikTok. “We are thrilled to partner with Atmosphere, facilitating a shared TikTok experience by bringing the platform’s creativity and enjoyment to new screens, venues, and audiences.”

Atmosphere’s Growth and Expansion

Atmosphere recently announced significant milestones at the CES tech event. The company revealed a $100 million funding round fueled by substantial growth, doubling its venue count to 19,000 and reaching 20 million monthly unique users.

While Atmosphere already incorporates content from platforms like YouTube, this partnership signifies the company’s first channel dedicated to a single social media brand.

Months in the Making

Leo Resig, co-founder and CEO of Atmosphere, disclosed that discussions and planning for this channel have been underway for eight months. “As the leading social media platform, TikTok is meticulous about how its brand and content are distributed,” he explained. “However, they recognize the potential of our platform.”

Distinct from TikTok TV

TikTok has clarified to TechCrunch that this Atmosphere partnership is separate from TikTok TV, its consumer-focused television application. It exemplifies TikTok’s strategy of diversifying its reach to new audiences and establishing additional revenue streams alongside advertising within its primary app.

Content Curation and Licensing

Atmosphere’s team will access a library of TikTok content, selecting videos deemed suitable for the Atmosphere channel. They will then obtain permission from the original creators and arrange appropriate credit.

Atmosphere will remove the original audio, potentially replacing it with its own or leaving it muted – a common practice in many of its client venues. Captions will be added, and the content will be compiled into a dedicated video stream. Advertising within the channel will be managed by Atmosphere, with revenue shared between the two companies.

Creator Compensation

Currently, creators are not directly compensated for the use of their content on the Atmosphere channel. However, Atmosphere provides attribution to help creators expand their audiences and brands. The company currently allocates “low millions of dollars per year” to content providers overall, but primarily relies on free content with attribution.

Content Selection and Scale

Atmosphere will have access to a selection of tens of thousands of TikTok videos, rather than the platform’s entire catalog.

A Strategic Alignment

For Atmosphere, partnering with TikTok represents a significant win. TikTok was actively seeking opportunities to expand to a wider range of screens, and this collaboration offers a way to repurpose and revitalize older videos that may no longer be prominently featured in TikTok’s algorithms.

Shared Consumption Habits

Interestingly, both TikTok and Atmosphere have observed a trend of users consuming video content without sound. TikTok has developed its own captioning technology to address this, allowing creators to add text graphics or utilize AI-generated captions.

Atmosphere’s initial integration will likely involve adding its own captions to the curated TikTok videos.

TikTok’s Impact Beyond Official Streams

During the US Olympics, TikTok distinguished itself not as a source for official event streams, but as a platform for user-generated content from athletes, spectators, and others involved. This content often complemented or even preceded official coverage.

Complementary Content Strategies

Atmosphere has focused on providing sports content that complements existing broadcasts in venues like bars, rather than attempting to replace premium sports channels.

“Currently, we coexist with sports,” stated Resig, noting that Atmosphere typically occupies 25% of a venue’s screens, with the remaining screens displaying traditional content. “We don’t aim to be on every screen.”

Future Possibilities

As Atmosphere grows, it is initiating discussions with sports media organizations to explore potential premium sports content offerings. TikTok shares a similar approach to sports content.

This partnership represents an initial step, with potential for further development. The current commercial arrangement is between TikTok and Atmosphere, with creators not receiving direct payment. However, promotion and links to creators’ profiles are provided.

The Potential for TV-Specific Content

A future possibility involves creators developing content specifically tailored for television formats, addressing the need for adjustments to fit the wider aspect ratio of TV screens.

“Creators will undoubtedly create content specifically for TikTok’s TV activities in the future,” predicted Resig. “Once it becomes widespread, they will recognize the value of both the native app and the TV format.” He emphasized that this is not currently under discussion, but is a natural progression for any successful platform.