TikTok finalizes deal to stay in the U.S.
Speakers
Julia Boorstin
— Senior Media & Tech Correspondent
Kelly
— Anchor
Summary
CNBC's Julia Boorstin reports that TikTok has finalized a U.S. ownership deal, with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGM as majority owners and ByteDance retaining 19%. The new U.S. company will retrain the algorithm on U.S. data, and existing users will not need to download a new app. The segment notes reduced shutdown risk but ongoing advertiser ROI uncertainty, rising competition from Instagram Reels, and expected TikTok Shop e-commerce growth.
- TikTok finalized a U.S. ownership deal after the shutdown threat.
- Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGM are majority owners; ByteDance holds 19%.
- TikTok's algorithm is being retrained on U.S. data; users keep the same app.
- Advertisers may wait to return until TikTok's new ROI is clear.
- Meta, Snap, YouTube and Pinterest were seen as beneficiaries of TikTok uncertainty.
- Instagram Reels engagement is rising while TikTok time spent falls.
- TikTok Shop is expected to ramp e-commerce and challenge competitors.
Ideas
TikTok ad uncertainty benefits social media rivals.
TikTok's finalized U.S. ownership deal removes the shutdown threat, but advertisers may still hedge and wait to move dollars back to TikTok until its new return on investment is clear. That uncertainty was already seen as a benefit for rivals Meta, Snap, YouTube and Pinterest, and continued advertiser hesitation could keep ad spending with those platforms.
