X has introduced a brand new, unique content material take care of the WWE, including extra video programming into its rising slate of reveals.

As per the announcement, WWE will air a brand new, weekly present on X which is able to characteristic timed matches between common WWE stars.

That would convey a whole lot of WWE followers to the app, relying on which stars are included on this program. X has additionally famous that in 2023, dialog about wrestling elevated 11% year-over-year.

I imply, it’s troublesome to quantify these outcomes precisely, as X appears to have modified a few of its measurements, however WWE is clearly common within the app, with 13.7 million customers following the principle WWE account.

As famous, the brand new program will add to X’s rising slate of unique content material, because it strikes to turn into a “video first platform”.

Up to now, X has signed unique video content material offers with:

• Paris Hilton, on a but to be introduced mission
• Tucker Carlson, whose interviews are recurrently producing tens of millions of views within the app
• Don Lemon, who’ll start airing his new “Don Lemon Present” quickly
• Tulsi Gabbard, who’s creating a sequence of documentary-style packages targeted on U.S. politics
• Jim Rome, who’s bringing his common “The Jungle” present to the app, airing 5 instances every week

Along with this, X can be working to incentivize prime on-line creators to submit to the app via improved advert income share offers, which it’s presently testing with YouTube star MrBeast, who’s re-posted a few of his clips on X.

Provided that MrBeast generates nearly all of his earnings from YouTube, I don’t count on him to make the swap to X solely, although having any of his content material within the app provides to its programming slate, and X might be hoping that he could make sufficient advert income within the app to then pique the curiosity of different creators.

Controversial podcast host Joe Rogan can be seeking to re-share his content material to X, which may embrace video of his broadcasts, whereas it might even be noteworthy that Elon Musk will reportedly be a visitor of UFC CEO Dana White at this weekend’s “UFC Apex” in Las Vegas.

So whereas it is probably not a killer slate of different video content material as but, X is constructing out its roster over time, whereas it’s additionally experimenting with a brand new, devoted video tab within the app which may assist to additional spotlight its programming.

In fact, Twitter earlier than Elon additionally tried this similar strategy, with combined outcomes.

Again in 2016, Twitter made a giant push on TV-like content material, signing unique contracts with the MLB, NFL, and NBA to broadcast video games instantly within the app. That was a part of a broader effort to attach the rise in reside occasion tweeting with the supply materials. Twitter’s analysis had proven that it was the highest vacation spot for on-line engagement round reside sports activities occasions and TV packages, and its view had been that if it may mix the 2, it might then be capable to construct an leisure powerhouse, capitalizing on each the content material and the dialog in a single stream.

But it surely didn’t work.

For no matter purpose, customers weren’t overly enamored by having tweets and the present working side-by-side, which may come all the way down to the truth that solely a comparatively small variety of individuals truly use Twitter, so proscribing the content material to a smaller viewers by bringing in app diminished total engagement.

Issues, nevertheless, have modified since.

Social platforms are actually greater sources of leisure in their very own proper, versus simply the associated dialogue, and perhaps, on condition that extra individuals are consuming extra content material direct in social apps, the time is now proper for X to make this new push, which may present considerably greater promoting alternatives.

Signing controversial content material additionally helps to spice up Elon’s “free speech” agenda within the app, and it does appear to be X might be seeking to play an even bigger function in political dialogue throughout the upcoming election cycle via its video programming.

I suppose, the query then might be what occurs after, particularly if advertisers proceed to avoid the app.

Elon’s long-held view is that it doesn’t actually matter what he says, or what anybody else shares within the app, as long as it brings individuals in, as a result of whereas companies are eager to behave principled on sure issues, all they actually care about is their very own backside line. And if X can get to, say, a billion customers, they’ll should promote within the app, whether or not they prefer it or not, as a result of the viewers attain will merely be too massive to disregard, if X can win over that sort of consideration.

It nonetheless appears unlikely that X can do this, however the X workforce might be hoping that this new unique content material push would be the key to creating this a actuality, drawing in so many viewers throughout so many subject areas that it’ll merely turn into too compelling a draw for advert companions.

Once more, previous expertise doesn’t bode effectively for this technique, and X’s determination to deal with sure broadcasters and content material may restrict its potential both approach.

However that’s the hope, and including an unique WWE program into the combination is actually a constructive step.