Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Donald Trump’s media company, has announced plans to launch a live TV streaming platform. The platform will focus on “news networks” and “religious channels,” along with “other content that has been canceled, is at risk of being canceled, or is being silenced on other platforms and services,” according to a press release. The service will also feature “family-friendly” content, including movies and documentaries.
The streaming service will launch in three phases. The company first plans to introduce Truth Social’s CDN (content delivery network) for streaming to the Truth Social app for Android, iOS and the web. Next, Truth Social plans to release over-the-top (“OTT”) streaming apps for phones, tablets and other devices. The final phase of the rollout includes the release of a streaming app for TVs.
The Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) says it has been testing the streaming service on the web and iOS platforms for six months and has “completed the research and development phase”.
“We’re excited to move on to the next big phase for Truth Social,” TMTG CEO Devin Nunes said in the press release. “With our streaming content, we aim to provide a permanent home for high-quality news and entertainment that faces discrimination from other channels and content delivery services.”
The announcement comes as Elon Musk’s X has focused on trying to turn the social networking site into free speech “video-first” platform. The social network currently has an original show hosted by former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and another by former Fox Sports anchor Jim Rome. Last month, Musk canceled a talk deal with former CNN host Don Lemon after the multibillionaire was interviewed for the show’s first episode.
Truth Social went public last month after shareholders approved the merger of TMTG and Digital World Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company’s stock fell this week after it said it would sell more shares to collect cash. Although the company is worth billions of dollars, TMTG is struggling to make money: It reportedly had a net loss of about $49 million in 2023 and revenue of just $4 million.
