Chinese short-video market in brutal shakeout as Tencent, Bilibili close smaller apps amid tougher conditions
- The decision came just a day after Bilibili, the gaming and video-streaming platform, decided to close its short video app Light Video
- Vue Vlog, which was fully acquired by Tencent two years ago, said it will cease operations on September 30
Vue Vlog, a short video app owned by Tencent Holdings, said it will cease operations in September, bowing out of a competitive market in China dominated by bigger players such as Tencent’s in-house short video service, ByteDance’s Douyin and Kuaishou Technology.
The decision came just a day after Bilibili, the gaming and video-streaming platform, decided to close its short video app Light Video, citing the need for a business restructuring. The closures came at a time when China’s Big Tech firms are consolidating amid a slowing and competitive market.
Vue Vlog, which was fully acquired by Tencent two years ago, said it will cease operations on September 30 due to “an adjustment of the project team’s strategic plan”, according to a notice issued on Thursday on its official website.
Registration of new users was stopped on Friday and all user data will be deleted by the end of September, the company said.
Started in 2016 with an initial focus on video shoots and editing technologies, the app later morphed into a live video-blogging online community in China. It was fully acquired in cash by Tencent in 2020 for nearly US$50 million, according to Chinese media outlet 36Kr.
Tencent declined to comment further on Friday.