The New York Times launches TikTok-style Watch tab with human curation
With its new Watch tab, The New York Times moves beyond text into immersive mobile video
The New York Times just added a Watch tab to its main app, introducing a vertical video feed built for mobile-first storytelling. The swipeable format brings together short-form video from across the company’s media portfolio and reflects a deeper shift: The Times is now treating video as a core part of its product, not a social media add-on.
This article breaks down what the launch means for publishers, brand leaders, and marketers navigating content strategies in an increasingly multimedia world. It also looks at how the Times is rethinking discovery and engagement without the algorithms that power TikTok and Reels.
Short on time?
Here’s a table of contents for quick access:
- What’s in the new Watch tab
- Why it matters: The Times goes all in on multimedia
- What marketers should know
Patrecia Meliana
What's in the new Watch tab
Watch is a vertical video feed now embedded inside the New York Times app. It features content from all of the company’s brands, including News, Opinion, Cooking, Wirecutter, and The Athletic. The feed is mobile-native, swipeable, and refreshed multiple times per day.
The rollout comes after several weeks of testing with a small user base. Unlike TikTok or Instagram Reels, Watch does not use algorithmic recommendations, likes, or comments. Users can tap text links at the bottom of videos to navigate to the full article, podcast, or documentary.
The format is designed for engagement and recirculation, helping audiences discover deeper content while browsing short clips.
Joy Robins, Global Chief Advertising Officer at the Times, said the move builds on the company’s broader push to transform its journalism into a multimedia experience.
The Times goes all in on multimedia
This is not an isolated feature. Watch is the latest move in a multi-year overhaul of the Times' newsroom and product stack. The company now produces 75 hours of professionally edited video content every month. Monthly video watch time across Times platforms has more than doubled year over year.
Earlier this year, the Times also added a Listen tab and shut down its standalone Audio app, integrating audio content into the main app. The goal is clear: give users a one-stop destination for reading, listening, and now, watching.
Instead of chasing engagement on TikTok or YouTube Shorts, the Times is building its own controlled environment where it owns the experience and the data. That shift is increasingly relevant as publishers reconsider their dependency on third-party platforms.
What marketers should know
Here are three reasons marketers should take note of this launch:
1. Short-form video is now a premium channel, not just social filler
The Times is treating vertical video as a legitimate journalism format. That creates opportunities for marketers who want to place branded content in high-trust environments. This isn’t just about reach anymore. It’s about resonance.
Patrecia Meliana
2. Ad inventory is coming, and it’s fast-moving
Although the Watch tab will initially launch without ads, a beta program is expected in 2026. The Times says it will let brands repurpose existing social assets and deploy campaigns in under 48 hours, skipping custom builds and long approval timelines. Results from the Games app suggest high viewability and strong brand lift.
3. Editorial curation changes the tone of discovery
Without personalization algorithms, Watch gives all users the same feed. For marketers, this creates a more stable context for content. No sudden shifts due to machine learning updates. No volatile performance swings. Just a curated experience built around editorial voice.
The Times' Watch tab is curated by editors, not code. That’s a deliberate move. It reduces the risk of toxic content surfacing and offers a consistent tone across all videos. It also puts the spotlight back on journalism, not just trending sounds or creator formats.
This makes the product fundamentally different from TikTok or Reels. And for marketers, it signals a return to content ecosystems that prioritize quality, control, and brand safety over sheer scale.
Robins summed it up: “This represents a disciplined opportunity to grow.”
