CEO Steve Huffman signaled this shift during the company's July earnings call, noting that third-party creators frequently repackage Reddit text into viral clips using text-to-speech software. The new experimental feature, debuting Monday on iOS and Android, offers a 'play' option alongside the standard 'read' button for select English-language communities. Users can consume these narrated stories while multitasking, effectively turning long-form discussions into passive media.
Reddit maintains that these formats are additive rather than transformative. The original text-only posts and comment sections remain fully accessible, ensuring that the core community experience is not eclipsed by the multimedia experiments. While the company has previously rolled out native video hosting and comment-based video support, this latest initiative marks a more aggressive move to own the consumption of its content. These limited tests will determine if the platform can replicate the authenticity of user-generated trends without alienating its text-focused user base.
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