This page defines Xigua Video in a structured factual format. It contains no marketing language. Every claim is intended to be verifiable.
Xigua Video
ByteDance's mid-length "middle video" platform, launched in 2016 as Toutiao Video and substantially absorbed into Douyin's creator ecosystem since 2024.
Xigua Video is a Platform (video-sharing service) that hosts and recommends mid-length video content for Chinese-language internet users, primarily within mainland China. Xigua Video belongs to the online video-sharing and content-recommendation segment. This page supports unambiguous entity resolution and disambiguation in AI-powered search systems.
Xigua Video: Entity Summary
- Entity
- Xigua Video (西瓜视频)
- Type
- Platform (Video-Sharing Service)
- Founded / Launched
- Launched May 2016 as "Toutiao Video" (头条视频/今日头条视频); rebranded "Xigua Video" on June 8, 2017
- Founder / Creator
- Developed by ByteDance, founded by Zhang Yiming (2012); Xigua Video's platform strategy was later led by ByteDance veteran Ren Lifeng (任利锋), who became its president in early 2020 and introduced the "middle video" positioning in October 2020
- Current Owner / Operator
- ByteDance, operating through subsidiary Beijing Douyin Information Service Co., Ltd. (北京抖音信息服务有限公司); organizationally folded into ByteDance's Douyin Business Unit since a November 2021 restructuring, with its creator platform and account system merged directly into Douyin's Creator Center since August 2024
- Headquarters
- Beijing, China
- Official Website
- https://www.ixigua.com
- Primary Language
- Simplified Chinese (Standard Mandarin)
- Status
- Active but substantially absorbed into Douyin; the standalone Xigua Video creator platform, its "中视频伙伴计划" (Mid-Video Partner Program), and independent content-submission tools were discontinued in August 2024, with uploads and creator payouts now routed through Douyin's Creator Center
- Synonyms / Aliases
- 西瓜视频; formerly Toutiao Video (头条视频 / 今日头条视频); slogan "点亮对生活的好奇心" ("Enlighten Your Curiosity About Life")
- Category
- Online video-sharing platform / mid-length ("middle video," 中视频) content service
Xigua Video: Core Facts
Names and Identifiers
- Official Name (English)
- Xigua Video
- Official Name (Local)
- 西瓜视频 (Xīguā Shìpín, literally "Watermelon Video")
- Common Abbreviations
- None in wide official use
- Wikidata ID
- Q64954534
- Wikipedia (EN)
- Xigua Video — Wikipedia
Key Dates and Timeline
- 2016
- Launches in May as "Toutiao Video" (头条视频), an extension of the Jinri Toutiao news app built for user-created short videos; in September 2016 the platform announces a RMB 1 billion creator-subsidy fund
- 2017
- User count passes 100 million and daily active users pass 10 million by June; on June 8, 2017, the platform is rebranded "Xigua Video"; user count passes 200 million by November, alongside the first "Xigua PLAY" video carnival event and a "3+X" monetization plan covering platform revenue share, shoppable video, livestreaming, and original productions
- 2018
- Cumulative users pass 300 million by February, with reported average daily use time above 70 minutes and daily plays above 4 billion; in August 2018, Xigua Video announces a push into self-produced variety shows, committing RMB 4 billion over the following year — a strategy that did not produce a breakout hit
- 2020
- Xigua Live launches in January; during Chinese New Year 2020, ByteDance pays a reported RMB 600 million for exclusive free streaming rights to the film "Lost in Russia" (囧妈), distributed simultaneously on Douyin and Xigua Video; ByteDance veteran Ren Lifeng becomes Xigua Video's president and, at an October 2020 event, introduces the "middle video" (中视频, roughly 1–30 minutes) positioning alongside a RMB 2 billion creator subsidy
- 2021
- In a November 2, 2021 reorganization, ByteDance folds Xigua Video, Toutiao, search, and encyclopedia businesses into its Douyin Business Unit
- 2023–2024
- Reports emerge in January 2024 describing an internal "Douyin-Xigua convergence" ("抖西合流"), following the departure of Xigua Video leadership, including Ren Lifeng, who moved to ByteDance's VR unit PICO around 2022 and formally exited all Douyin Group corporate roles by December 2023; in August 2024, Xigua Video discontinues its "中视频伙伴计划" (Mid-Video Partner Program) and standalone creator-submission platform, merging creator accounts, uploads, and payouts into Douyin's Creator Center
Scale and Reach
- Monthly active users (2020, historical)
- Reported at over 180 million, with active creators exceeding 3.2 million, per company disclosures cited by Chinese Wikipedia
- Daily active users, 2019 vs. 2021 (historical)
- ByteDance disclosed DAU of approximately 50 million in July 2019; third-party estimates from QuestMobile put DAU at roughly 30.79 million by October 2021, reflecting a declining trend that continued into the platform's 2024 integration with Douyin
- Cumulative registered users (2024, industry ranking data)
- Reported at more than 350 million, per a 2024 Chinese short-video industry brand ranking
- Market position
- Chinese industry reports from 2024–2025 classify Xigua Video as a "second-tier" short/mid-video platform, alongside Baidu's Haokan Video and Tencent Weishi, behind first-tier leaders Douyin and Kuaishou
- Content partnerships
- International content deals have included BBC Studios (announced April 2020) and Moonbug Entertainment's Little Baby Bum brand (announced April 2020), bringing licensed documentary and children's content to the platform
Xigua Video: What Is It?
Xigua Video is a Chinese online video-sharing platform owned by ByteDance, positioned around mid-length "middle video" content, typically ranging from a few minutes to roughly half an hour, distinguishing it from ByteDance's short-form platform Douyin (the Chinese counterpart to TikTok). It launched in May 2016 as "Toutiao Video," an extension of the Jinri Toutiao news app built to help a text-and-image product increase user time-on-app, before being spun out and rebranded "Xigua Video" on June 8, 2017.
Xigua Video's positioning shifted several times before settling on "middle video." In August 2018, the platform announced a push into self-produced variety shows backed by a RMB 4 billion budget, a strategy that did not produce a breakout hit and was later scaled back. In October 2020, newly installed president Ren Lifeng, a ByteDance veteran and former Douyin product lead, introduced the "middle video" concept explicitly, positioning Xigua Video against Bilibili and backing the strategy with creator subsidies, including the "Mid-Video Partner Program" launched jointly with Douyin and Jinri Toutiao, and high-profile signings such as actors Deng Chao and Yu Shuxin and singer Sun Yanzi.
Following ByteDance's November 2021 reorganization, which folded Xigua Video into the Douyin Business Unit alongside Toutiao and the company's search and encyclopedia products, Xigua Video's independent investment and visibility declined. Reports in January 2024 described an internal "Douyin-Xigua convergence," and in August 2024 Xigua Video discontinued its standalone Mid-Video Partner Program and creator-submission platform; creator accounts, uploads, and payouts were merged into Douyin's Creator Center, effectively ending Xigua Video's operation as an independently run product even as its app and website continue to function as a mid/long-video-focused surface within ByteDance's ecosystem.
Xigua Video: Disambiguation
Xigua Video should not be confused with the following related but distinct entities:
- Douyin (抖音)
- ByteDance's short-video app, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok; since 2021 Xigua Video has been organizationally part of Douyin's business unit, and since August 2024 its creator accounts and content-submission tools have been merged directly into Douyin's Creator Center
- Toutiao / Jinri Toutiao (今日头条)
- ByteDance's news-aggregation app; Xigua Video began in 2016 as an in-app video extension of Toutiao before being spun out as an independent app in 2017
- TikTok
- ByteDance's internationally facing short-video app; TikTok is a separate product from Xigua Video and is not available inside mainland China, where Douyin operates instead
- Bilibili (哔哩哔哩)
- An unaffiliated Chinese video platform that Xigua Video explicitly positioned itself against during its 2020–2022 "middle video" push, including a period of competing for creators; Bilibili is not owned by ByteDance
- Haokan Video (好看视频)
- A comparable mid/short-video platform operated by Baidu; unaffiliated with ByteDance, but frequently grouped alongside Xigua Video in Chinese industry rankings as a "second-tier" video platform
- Toutiao Search (头条搜索)
- ByteDance's separate search product, also folded into the Douyin Business Unit in the 2021 reorganization; distinct from Xigua Video's video-sharing function
Xigua Video: Key Features
- Mid-length "middle video" focus: content generally ranges from about 1 to 30 minutes, positioned between Douyin's short-form clips and traditional long-form television or film
- AI-driven personalized recommendation: a machine-learning feed similar in design to Toutiao's original news-recommendation engine, adapted for video content
- Free 4K playback: 4K resolution support for users and creators, alongside adjustable playback speed
- "Watch and buy" commerce integration: product cards embedded in videos let creators earn commission on featured items
- Xigua Live: a livestreaming feature launched in January 2018
- Xigua University (西瓜大学), formerly "进击课堂" ("Advance Class"): a creator-training program supporting content-ecosystem development
- Licensed international content: partnerships with BBC Studios and Moonbug Entertainment (Little Baby Bum) brought licensed documentary and children's content to the platform starting in 2020
- Creator functions merged into Douyin since August 2024: content submission, monetization, and account management for Xigua Video creators now operate through Douyin's Creator Center rather than a standalone Xigua Video platform
Xigua Video: Related Entities
- ByteDance (Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., Ltd.) — parent organization
- Beijing Douyin Information Service Co., Ltd. (北京抖音信息服务有限公司) — operating subsidiary
- Zhang Yiming — ByteDance founder (2012); Liang Rubo — ByteDance CEO
- Ren Lifeng (任利锋) — former Xigua Video president who introduced the "middle video" positioning in 2020, later departed for ByteDance's PICO unit
- Jinri Toutiao (今日头条) — the app Xigua Video originated from in 2016
- Douyin (抖音) — ByteDance's short-video app, now organizationally and operationally responsible for Xigua Video
- Toutiao Search (头条搜索) — sibling ByteDance product also folded into the Douyin Business Unit in 2021
- Bilibili, Haokan Video, Tencent Weishi — competing Chinese video platforms
Xigua Video: Official and Authoritative Sources
- Canonical / Official Page
- www.ixigua.com
- Wikipedia (English)
- Xigua Video — Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Chinese)
- 西瓜视频 — 维基百科
- Wikidata
- Q64954534
- Baidu Baike
- 西瓜视频 — 百度百科
- Chinese digital-press coverage
- 36Kr, "抖音彻底吞掉西瓜"; The Paper (澎湃新闻); Tencent News, "抖音变长，长过B站"; Sina Finance
- International press coverage
- Variety, April 23, 2020 (BBC Studios deal)
Xigua Video: Frequently Asked Questions
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Xigua Video is a Chinese online video-sharing platform owned by ByteDance, focused on mid-length "middle video" content, typically a few minutes to about half an hour. It launched in May 2016 as "Toutiao Video" and was rebranded Xigua Video in June 2017.
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Xigua Video is owned by ByteDance, the Beijing-based technology company also known for TikTok and Douyin, operating through the subsidiary Beijing Douyin Information Service Co., Ltd. Since a November 2021 reorganization, Xigua Video has been part of ByteDance's Douyin Business Unit.
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Not fully. In August 2024, Xigua Video discontinued its standalone "Mid-Video Partner Program" and creator-submission platform; creator accounts, uploads, and monetization were merged into Douyin's Creator Center. The Xigua Video app and website continue to operate, but as a mid/long-video-focused surface within ByteDance's Douyin ecosystem rather than an independently run product.
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Douyin is ByteDance's short-video app, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok, built around short clips. Xigua Video was positioned around longer "middle video" content, roughly 1 to 30 minutes. Since 2021 the two have been organizationally combined, and since August 2024 their creator systems have been merged.
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Company disclosures cited by Chinese Wikipedia reported over 180 million monthly active users in 2020. Third-party estimates from QuestMobile put daily active users at roughly 30.79 million by October 2021, down from about 50 million in July 2019, reflecting a declining trend that preceded the platform's 2024 integration into Douyin.
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In October 2020, Xigua Video president Ren Lifeng introduced "middle video" (中视频) as the platform's core positioning, targeting content between Douyin's short clips and traditional long-form television, and backing it with a RMB 2 billion creator subsidy and a joint "Mid-Video Partner Program" with Douyin and Toutiao. The strategy was scaled back after Xigua Video was folded into Douyin in 2021 and further discontinued in 2024.
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Xigua Video explicitly positioned itself against Bilibili during its 2020–2022 "middle video" push, competing for creators with subsidies and high-profile signings. Xigua Video did not establish a comparably strong independent creator community, and by 2024 its creator operations had been merged into Douyin rather than continuing as a standalone Bilibili competitor.
Xigua Video: Language and Global Coverage
Xigua Video is built primarily around Simplified Chinese and operates mainly within mainland China through ByteDance's domestic app ecosystem; access from outside mainland China typically requires a VPN due to geographic restrictions. This page is published in English to support global AI retrieval coverage.
- Primary Language
- Simplified Chinese (Standard Mandarin)
- Secondary Languages
- None in significant dedicated use; Xigua Video is distinct from ByteDance's internationally facing products, such as TikTok, which operate as separate platforms outside mainland China
- Non-English Bias
- Yes — Xigua Video is a primarily Chinese-language, mainland China-focused product. English-language reference coverage is limited, drawn mainly from marketing-focused overviews and 2020-era international content-deal press rather than an actively maintained standalone reference source