Washington Strikes Deal: TikTok’s Future in America Sealed by Sell-Off Pact

Meta has published a new report, in conjunction with National Research Group, which looks at how Meta’s platforms help support sporting engagement, and drive sports fandom through communities, evolving digital experiences, and more.Which also presents significant opportunities for sports-related advertisers, and Meta’s report also explores this aspect, in how marketers can tap into sports communities to boost brand awareness and sales.You can download Meta’s full, 50-page “Beyond the Highlights” sports report here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the key notes.First off, the report looks at overall sports engagement, and the role that Meta’s apps play within the broader scope of sports-related discussion.As you can see from this overview, Meta platforms are a key destination for sports engagement, which makes sense when you consider the overall audience of both Instagram and Facebook, with WhatsApp, Messenger, and now Threads all also playing a part.In that sense, this does seem like a somewhat unfair comparison, in that Meta’s listing “Meta platforms,” a cumulative grouping of its apps, and pitting that against TikTok and X. But then again, YouTube is there too, and even considering this is a combined figure, 17% is still a lot of sports-related discussion across its apps.And Meta does break it down more specifically in another section of the report: This relates to fan engagement specifically, not sports discussion overall, but as you can see, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp ranked higher among survey participants in driving sports engagement. Also Threads. Look at Threads in there taking up its own place in the broader sports landscape.It’s worth noting too, in this context, sports is a key driving force of social media engagement more broadly.Back in April, as part of an overview of fashion discussion in the app, X shared this graph: So as you can see, despite sports engagement on X only accounting for 3% of overall sports discussion, it’s the biggest single topic of focus in the app. That provides some additional insight to color the above charts.The report also looks at how Facebook and Instagram drive discovery of sports products: And provides demographic insights for the Meta sports audience: There’s also an overview of the types of sports content that fans are looking to engage with: There are also notes on when sports fans are more likely to engage in Meta apps (before, during, and after live events), how sports influencers drive action, as well as platform-by-platform breakdowns of the respective sports audience. There’s a heap more insight in the full report, which is a must-read for any marketer working in sports or sport-related fields.📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!

Instagram has rolled out another set of updates for its “Edits” video editing app, introducing upgraded overlays and transition controls, along with the ability to save sound effects. The changes aim to make it easier for creators to access their go-to audio files or pull sounds they come across while browsing other clips.  The biggest change is that Edits will now allow users to transform clips into overlays, opening up fresh creative possibilities for video composition. As shown in the example, your primary clip can now double as an overlay, enabling you to pair it with a secondary background video. This functionality gives creators more flexibility to produce visually dynamic Reels.  On top of that, Edits is adding greater precision to transitions, with adjustable fade-in and fade-out speeds to fine-tune how scenes flow into one another. And as noted, sound design is getting a lift as well, with the option to save sound effects for quick access across projects. Instagram’s steady investment in Edits is clearly geared toward enhancing Reels creation. The app is quickly becoming a comprehensive toolkit for short-form video, offering an array of ways to polish and elevate content. The timing makes sense. Meta recently revealed that time spent watching video on Instagram has jumped 20% year-over-year, while also noting last November that Reels now account for half of all time spent in the app. Given those numbers, Meta’s strategy is obvious: it wants more video. Its recommendation engine is increasingly tuned to amplify Reels, and that means well-crafted short videos are the best path to visibility on the platform. With Edits continually expanding its suite of creative tools, creators now have more capacity than ever to craft clips with viral potential. Since launching in April, Meta has steadily layered on features, including:Expanded fonts, filters, and voice effectsSimplified transition editingFrame rate playback optionsBeat markers to align audioAdvanced cropping controlsImproved tracking sensitivityVolume adjustmentsBuilt-in teleprompterAI-powered restyling toolsSticky notes for workflow remindersNoise reductionMore export optionsKeyframe editingA library of royalty-free tracksSafe zone mappingIn-depth Reels analytics That’s an extensive toolbox, and for creators serious about maximizing reach through Reels, it’s well worth running projects through Edits to see how far they can be refined. After all, it’s free — so why not take advantage of the added polish? 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!

Are we finally nearing the end of the long-running TikTok-U.S. saga? Today, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that a framework has been drawn up for a potential sell-off of TikTok, one that could see the app acquired by an as-yet unnamed American investor—while still allowing its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to retain a significant ownership stake. According to Bessent, the deal is “between two private parties,” with key commercial terms already agreed upon ahead of this week’s deadline for TikTok’s compliance in the United States. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has announced that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, where TikTok will be among the issues on the table. As Trump posted on Truth Social:“The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday.” Bessent added that the arrangement would preserve the “Chinese characteristics” of TikTok, while still satisfying the conditions of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. He also noted that the deadline could be extended by up to 90 days to hammer out the finer details, though the intent remains to finalize the deal before this week’s cutoff. Trump has already extended TikTok’s deadline three times, using executive authority to delay enforcement of the Senate-approved legislation. The current deadline is September 17, but Trump appears confident that this time, a resolution will be in place. Complicating matters is Beijing’s stance: Chinese officials have repeatedly said they will not permit the sale of TikTok’s core algorithm to the U.S. under any circumstances. On the American side, officials have likewise insisted that no agreement will be reached if the Chinese government presses for tariff relief or looser tech restrictions as part of the bargain. In other words, while progress has been announced before only to collapse in the eleventh hour, this latest development feels closer than ever to a breakthrough. Still, caution is warranted. If completed, the deal would bring an end to years of uncertainty over TikTok’s U.S. future. It would also reassure millions of creators, who have feared losing their audiences overnight, while clearing the way for TikTok to ramp up its in-app shopping and monetization push in the American market. But until pen meets paper, nothing is guaranteed. All signs suggest that a TikTok-U.S. deal could be announced this week, yet history urges us not to celebrate prematurely. 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!