Netflix has announced the launch of a new Fast Laughs mobile feature that is similar to TikTok, a popular video-sharing app. The new feature offers a full-screen feed of short funny videos from the streaming platform's comedy catalog. The list includes movies (Murder Mystery), TV series (Big Mouth), and sitcoms (The Crew), as well as excerpts from performances by stand-up comedians such as Kevin Hart and Ali Wong. The short clips last from 15 to 45 seconds. Netflix users cannot publish their videos in the feed. They can only watch those produced by the platform's editors.
Netflix confirmed that the feature would use the platform's entire catalog, not just its own original content. However, the company was unable to say how many shows or films will be shown within the new feature at any given time.
You can access the feature by opening the Fast Laughs tab at the bottom of the navigation menu of the application. Like on TikTok, Fast Laughs videos are presented in the form of an endless feed. Users can like them and share them on other social media platforms like Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram, but the comment option is disabled.
According to the streaming service, Fast Laughs will allow subscribers to entertain themselves with content overnight without having to watch an entire TV show or movie, as well as help them in choosing a movie/series to watch later.
Fast Laughs should also help Netflix show its users how much content is available on the platform and give subscribers an idea of what they might have missed. In particular, the stand-up comedy content that the platform has been actively engaged in recently.
The Internet Protocol
The new feature is especially relevant amid the growth and popularity of TikTok. In the latest annual report, Netflix cites TikTok as its major competitor. Netflix and TikTok create different types of content, but people spend more time on TikTok and therefore less time on Netflix. Fast Laughs is supposed to help Netflix compete for users with TikTok, the most popular social network of 2020.
Therefore, the main goal of Fast Laughs is to get you to watch Netflix more. This way, if you liked a short fragment from the video, you can save the title of the original to watch it later, which will increase the time spent in the service application.
Currently, the feature is only available on iOS, but the company promises to start testing Fast Laughs on Android soon.
Netflix is not the only company trying to create TikTok analogs to compete with the popular short-video platform. Facebook has recently launched Bars, a TikTok-like experimental rapper app with ready-made beats. In August, Instagram also launches Reels, another TikTok rival.
