Reddit tests audio and video feeds to capture passive consumption
CEO Steve Huffman aims to replicate the popularity of spoken Reddit stories found on rival platforms, offering users a choice between reading and playing content.
Reddit has commenced a limited test of a new audio and video experience, allowing users to listen to or watch popular posts rather than simply reading them. The initiative, available on iOS and Android applications, targets select English-language posts within specific communities to gauge user engagement and scalability.
The feature enables users to toggle between a traditional "read" mode and a "play" mode for content that supports the new formats. This shift aligns with the company’s strategy to capture passive consumption habits, such as listening to posts while exercising or running errands, as well as watching written conversations unfold through combined audio and visual elements.
CEO Steve Huffman first outlined the initiative during the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July. He noted that narrated Reddit stories have already gained traction on other social media platforms, where creators or text-to-speech tools read viral posts, sometimes accompanied by unrelated footage like gameplay or cooking videos. Huffman described this emerging content type as akin to podcasts where individuals read Reddit content aloud.
The company emphasised that the new audio and video formats will not replace original text-only posts. Users can still view and engage with the original post and its comments as they have previously. The initial test is designed to determine whether these formats can be integrated into the platform in a way that feels authentic to the Reddit community while providing utility for different consumption scenarios.
This marks another evolution in Reddit’s multimedia strategy. The platform previously experimented with native video hosting and various iterations of a TikTok-style video feed. More recently, Reddit introduced support for video in comments, a feature that now accounts for more than 10% of video posts on the platform. The current test focuses on determining which types of posts resonate most effectively with users before considering broader implementation.
