Channels, WeChat’s answer to short video app Douyin, tests livestreaming function

WeChat has reportedly begun testing livestreaming on its short video feature Channels with a select group of content creators. Tencent’s do-everything app has a huge user base in China, but it is a relatively late entrant to short video and livestreaming e-commerce. — SCMP

Tencent Holdings’ do-everything app WeChat has reportedly begun testing livestreaming on its short video feature Channels with a select group of content creators, as it increasingly competes with popular short video apps Douyin and Kuaishou in the short video and livestreaming e-commerce space.

Starting last week, a small group of Channels users was able to access the livestreaming function in beta mode, Chinese media outlet Jiemian reported last Friday. Jiemian’s test of the feature showed that viewers were able to watch livestreams while using other WeChat services. They could also like and comment on the livestreams, and share them via chat messages and WeChat’s social media feed, Moments.