Why People Are Watching Full TV Shows and Movies on TikTok

A rising TikTok trend in recent months suggests that many users are now consuming entire TV episodes, series and movies in short video installments on the shortform video app, with some watching multiple times a week for hours at a stretch.

Most of the accounts posting these clips are technically pirating content. But NBCUniversals Peacock has leaned into the trend, uploading full episodes of its series Killing It and Love Island USA to the app, hoping to capture interest among younger audiences in thrall of TikToks almighty algorithm.

But the trend suggests a few underlying trends worth unpacking. The most notable is the obvious and growing overall primacy of mobile over TV screen use. Among U.S. adults, mobile already dominates screen time versus other connected devices, including connected TV (CTV).

For the first time this year, time spent with digital video surpassed TV time, a long-running incremental trend mostly driven by more time going to streaming services viewed on CTV devices. But increasingly, its also been driven by increases in social video viewing, which predominantly occurs on mobile devices, with the extreme rise of TikTok.

Indeed, user time on TikTok has surged so explosively its even overtaken YouTube in average time spent per day among U.S. adults, with its gap behind Netflix only narrowing as Netflix usage plateaus.

Taken together, usage trends suggest that video consumed on social media TikTok, in particular is approaching viewing parity with traditional video entertainment (TV shows and movies) consumed on SVOD or FAST services.

Increasingly, SVOD and social directly compete for user attention, even in the context of the same viewing session. Viewers commonly report watching TikTok on smartphones, even while watching TV in the background. The phenomenon of second-screening with viewers often multitasking on another device (smartphone or laptop) while watching TV has often positioned the TV as the first screen, or the primary focus of viewer attention. But particularly among Gen Z and millennials, mobile device screens now compete much more intensely for first-screen status, with some arguing they have become the first screen.

Second-screen behavior was perhaps more benign when user activities were confined to checking email, shopping or idly scrolling social feeds when most posts were text- or image-based. Advertisers even found ways to interpret the behavior as a net benefit since it meant viewers were close to devices they could use for product research and purchases.

But more recently, social platforms have product-pivoted to become video-centric as they face down competition from TikTok, set to surpass all other social platforms in time spent by 2025. Most notably, Meta successfully introduced its shortform video clone Reels to both Instagram and Facebook in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Meanwhile, Gen Z and millennial entertainment preferences have clearly shifted versus older generations, with much less emphasis on watching TV shows or movies. Just 30% of Gen Z and millennials enjoy watching TV shows or movies more than other entertainment activities versus 55% among older generations, per Deloitte.

Further, 27% of Gen Z and millennials feel most connected to a community of people while watching user-generated content versus 11% among older consumers. More impressive, perhaps, is the finding that just 10% of younger consumers said none of these activities made them feel connected to a community compared with 45% for older gens. This could suggest that for young people who tend to be internet and social media natives, a key aspect of entertainment is its capacity for community engagement.

So, what does this have to do with the TikTok trend of people watching TV and movies in short clips directly on the app? Anecdotes of those who said theyd done it show theyre hard-pressed to say exactly why it was compelling, even as they acknowledged it was less convenient than watching the full content uninterrupted on linear or streaming TV.

Some enjoyed the interactive component of watching shows on TikTok, being able to read and leave user comments on videos. While there have been efforts to make streaming services more social, such experiments focused on simulating the co-viewing experience in private groups during the pandemic, such as Netflixs TeleParty and Hulus Watch Party.

Other responses referenced the algorithm surfacing content, meaning a user doesnt have to spend time finding things to watch,highlighting a common UX frustration on traditional OTT platforms and leading to decision paralysis in content discovery. And naturally, young people are also more likely to be cord-nevers, while TikTok is free for a never-ending supply of entertaining videos.

Some also suggested TikTok showed them just the critical dramatic highlights of a show, meaning they didnt have to sit through setup or filler that is common on reality TV.

The ultimate trend suggested here is that younger audiences are gravitating to social apps such as TikTok to be entertained by video content. And, in fact, the original format or intended screen might rank secondary to preferences viewing on TikTok satisfies where traditional entertainment platforms, so far at least, fall short.