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State of the Screens

TikTok = $50B?

By August 13, 2020November 15th, 2021No Comments

TikTok’s highest-paid stars (Jul-19 through Jun-20) according to Forbes:
1) 
Addison Rae – $5.0M
2) 
Charli D’Amelio – $4.0M
3) 
Dixie D’Amelio – $2.9M
4) 
Loren Gray – $2.6M
5) 
Josh Richards – $1.6M
6A) 
Michael Le – $1.2M
6B) 
Spencer X – $1.2M

Big question #1: How much is TikTok worth?

Quick answer: TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is worth ≈ $100B, leading some to believe TikTok is worth ≈ $20B – $50B by itself.

TikTok’s annual revenue (YoY growth) according to The Information:
1) 
2019P – $250M
2) 
2020P – $1.2B (↑ 380%)
3) 2021P – $3.0B (↑ 150%)

Mr. Screen’s Crystal Ball: TikTok recently launched a self-serve ad platform (think Facebook in 2007), which should accelerate ad revenue growth.

TikTok’s headcount (YoY growth) according to LinkedIn:
1) 
Aug-18 – 480
2) 
Aug-19 – 1,475 (↑ 207%)
3) Aug-20 – 5,143 (↑ 249%)

Big question #2: How did TikTok grow so fast?

Quick answer: TikTok spent ≈ $3M per day through 2018-19!

Flashback: TikTok Boom! How the Exploding Social Media App Is Going Hollywood

TikTok global app downloads by quarter according to SensorTower:
1) 
2017-Q1 – 22.4M
2)
 2017-Q2 – 26.6M
3) 
2017-Q3 – 33.6M
4) 
2017-Q4 – 46.8M
5) 
2018-Q1 – 110.3M
6) 
2018-Q2 – 156.0M
7) 
2018-Q3 – 183.8M
8) 
2018-Q4 – 205.7M
9) 
2019-Q1 – 187.3M
10) 
2019-Q2 – 155.9M
11) 
2019-Q3 – 175.9M
12) 
2019-Q4 – 199.4M
13) 
2020-Q1 – 315.0M

TikTok users in the U.S. (YoY growth) according to eMarketer:
1) 
2018 – 18.8M
2) 
2019 – 37.2M ( 97%)
3) 2020P – 45.4M ( 22%)
4) 2021P – 52.3M ( 15%)
5) 2022P – 55.8M ( 7%)
6) 2023P – 58.4M ( 5%)
7) 2024P – 60.3M ( 3%)

Wow: TikTok reached 1B users faster than any other app.

Video #1: Now What for TikTok: A conversation with Bryan Thoensen

Video #2: The Trouble With TikTok on U.S. Phones

More #1: The TikTok War

More #2: New TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Explains Why He Left Disney

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.