Amazon Prime Video takes on TikTok with short-form news clips

Amazon Prime Video is challenging TikTok by introducing short-form news clips. The company announced on Monday that it's expanding its news content to include on-demand clips featuring both local and national stories. These clips will be accessible on televisions and other living room devices, with plans to roll out to the web and Prime Video's mobile apps.

They will be featured in the News destination of the Prime Video app, specifically under Trending Topics and Local News carousels. Currently, Prime Video's news coverage is available to everyone in the U.S., free of charge, regardless of a Prime subscription. It remains unclear whether the mobile clips will be in vertical format, but they will be categorized as short-form content on iOS and Android devices.

While TikTok is primarily an entertainment platform, it has become a go-to source for younger audiences, including Gen Z, to consume news. Gen Z often turns to short-form apps like YouTube Shorts for their news fix. Amazon, lacking a social platform of its own, is adding short-form video to Prime Video to attract this demographic.

However, Gen Z viewers are drawn to these apps not just for the clip length, but for the organic, unpolished presentation of information. According to Pew Research, younger news consumers prefer short-form news that doesn't feel overly produced. Amazon is not the first streaming service to add short-form clips to its offerings. Peacock introduced support for short-form clips in March, followed by HBO Max and Netflix in July, and Disney+ in August.

These updates demonstrate an industry-wide trend to meet viewers where they are, who increasingly seek entertainment in shorter, bite-sized bursts that can be consumed in short periods rather than extended viewing sessions.