Toutiao operator ByteDance sees the future in short videos; wants content creators to make money

Consumers of short videos are expected to jump 58.2pc in China this year

Beijing ByteDance Technology expects short videos to dominate mobile screens in China. Photo: AP Photo

Beijing ByteDance Technology, the operator of China’s largest news aggregator Toutiao, is investing 2 billion yuan (US$302.77 million) to subsidise creators of online short videos as it expects the format to soon dominate mobile screens of China’s 700 million smartphone users.

Zhang Yiming, founder and chief executive of ByteDance, announced the investment in Beijing on Saturday to help commercialise short videos.

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