The Digiday Podcast
Episode: The Sora-TikTok U.S. Era of Short-Form Video
Date: October 14, 2025
Host(s): Kimeka McCoy, Tim Peterson, guest Crystal Scanlon

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the rapidly shifting landscape of short-form video, focusing on the U.S.-specific evolution of TikTok, the rise of OpenAI’s Sora app, Meta’s new Vibes feed, and what these trends mean for creators, brands, and advertisers. The discussion explores platform experimentation, the blending of AI and user content, advertising business models, regulatory anxieties, and the future for marketers and creators facing an ever-crowded, tech-driven content ecosystem.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Instagram’s Connected TV App: Why the Push to the Big Screen?

[01:48–06:47]

• News Recap: Instagram, according to boss Adam Mosseri, is exploring a connected TV app, following similar exploratory moves from TikTok.
• Hosts’ Skepticism:
  • Kimiko is blunt: “Do you want to watch reels on your TV? Is this something you’ve been craving?” Kimiko: “No. Hard no.” [02:35]
  • Tim draws the Quibi comparison, highlighting historic failures in blending small and big screen formats.
• Industry Trends:
  • Microdramas (60-second episodes) are trending in Asia and being eyed by U.S. companies (e.g., TelevisaUnivision’s push on VIX).
  • Tim is dubious about consumer demand, especially given format misalignments (vertical video on horizontal TVs).
• Advertiser Perspective:
  • “Kamika, you know how I’d love to see brands stand out? Lower prices, better product. That’s it. I don’t need your version of Chicken Shop Date.” — Tim [05:23]

2. Perplexity’s Advertising Pause: Canary in the Coal Mine?

[07:25–12:14]

• News Recap: Perplexity pauses ad sales; their head of ad sales departs after meager initial performance.
• Host Discussion:
  • $20k in ad sales in the fourth quarter (“nothing” at scale), calling into question the viability of AI-native ads for smaller platforms.
  • Kimiko: “I feel like it costs you more to build out the ad infrastructure than what you made.” [08:33]
  • Lack of user scale and advertiser ROI are core challenges.
• Broader AI Platform Implications:
  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT dwarfs Perplexity (800 million vs. 22 million users); “scale” rules for advertisers.
  • Tim: “Maybe Perplexity becomes the Friendster or MySpace of ad-supported AI platforms.” [11:02]
• Advertiser Demands:
  • Without scale, platforms need differentiation—tight tech stacks or niche audiences.
  • Questions linger about brand suitability in “answer feeds” compared to more traditional content feeds.

3. The TikTok U.S. Transition and the Rise of Sora & Vibes

[13:14–41:47]
(With guest Crystal Scanlon)

• State of TikTok:

  • Looming court-mandated U.S. spinoff and algorithm recreation; anxiety about whether 170M U.S. users will migrate.
  • Crystal notes: “If they’re expecting 170 million users to migrate… that’s a lot of reliance on those users actually doing it and not falling by the wayside.” [16:45]
  • Smaller user pool & content volume likely to impact TikTok's algorithmic effectiveness in the U.S.

• Advertiser and Marketer Sentiment:

  • Still strong ROI on TikTok; most marketers in wait-and-see mode rather than jumping to new platforms.
  • AI-generated feeds (Sora, Vibes) elicit curiosity, but brands remain loyal to tried-and-true platforms (Google, Meta):
    • “Tried and true is always the typical Google, Meta. If anyone gets scared, they run back to Google and Meta. That seems to always just be the default.” — Crystal [19:06]
  • Risk appetites vary; brand safety and suitability concerns are amplified with AI content.

• App Fatigue & User/Creator Attitudes:

  • Kimiko: "There are already so many apps that exist, I can’t be bothered to download another app, make another username and engage…" [22:24]
  • A segment of creators sees new platforms as first-mover opportunities; others feel overwhelmed.
  • Sora requires users to generate a cameo before engaging, pushing participatory dynamics reminiscent of BeReal. [24:29–25:31]
  • Concerns about privacy, likeness/IP theft, and misuse abound—though technical guardrails are being developed.

• Brand Safety & Disinformation:

  • Disinformation risks persist across platforms, regardless of moderation efforts. Sora’s “AI fiction zone” might ironically make fakery more transparent:
    • Tim: “I actually welcome something like Sora… it’s like going into the fiction section at a bookstore. Whatever I’m going to read I know isn’t real.” [26:02]

• Ad Formats & Monetization Futures:

  • Nascent (or nonexistent) ad products in AI-generated environments pose creative opportunities and dilemmas:
    • How will ads manifest if everything is AI-generated? Seamless product placement or “virtual influencer” campaigns may dominate:
      • Crystal: “This could be their [virtual influencers’] home that other people are stepping in.” [30:27]
  • “If everything else is fake, how would people know they can click on that? …Everything becomes clickable.” — Crystal & Tim [34:04–34:44]
  • Discusses the potential for dynamic, programmatic brand integrations (e.g., Nike-branded AI basketballs auto-inserted).

• Competitive Dynamics: Meta vs. OpenAI vs. YouTube vs. Creators

  • Meta’s iterative playbook is challenged by the unique technical hurdles of AI video generation.
  • Sora’s leadership benefits from ex-Meta hires (e.g., Fiji Simo).
  • YouTube remains the “king” of monetization and may wait, watching others’ mistakes, before decisive action.
    • “YouTube could do something. … Maybe they’re being the most cautious, actually waiting to see who does what, so then they can … have a really decent product.” — Crystal [40:48]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Instagram TV App:

  • Kimiko: “A flat, no.” [02:38]
  • “Why am I paying restaurant prices for a lunch spot? That doesn’t make any sense to me.” — Tim [05:23]

• Perplexity’s Ad Business:

  • “It costs you more to build out the ad infrastructure than what you made.” — Kimiko [08:33]
  • “Maybe Perplexity becomes the Friendster or MySpace of ad-supported AI platforms.” — Tim [11:02]

• Sora’s Onboarding Experience:

  • “The first thing it asks you to do is to create your own cameo. …You have to go in and partake in it, otherwise you can’t just watch other people’s…” — Crystal [24:29]

• On Brand Safety/Disinformation:

  • “If I see that [deepfake video] in Sora, then I know it’s fake because it’s… purely an app for AI generated videos. If I see that on TikTok or on X or on Instagram, then it’s an actual question of is this real or is this fake?” — Tim [26:02]

• On App Fatigue and Creator Resistance:

  • “Some creators… can’t be bothered to do this yet again.” — Kimiko [22:24]
  • “That was the same when TikTok was musically. …New platform, new opportunity, I’m there, blew up during the pandemic and now have become big creators in their own right.” — Tim [22:59]

• What Does AI Advertising Look Like?

  • “Does that mean that the CEO of Nike films himself for the cameo, does he put up a shoe to get on the app or what does that even look like?” — Kimiko [29:44]

• Virtual Influencers’ Growth:

  • “The conversation about virtual influencers… is more apparent to everybody else except for human influencers.” — Kimiko [30:41]

• Meta’s Copycat Challenges:

  • “Mark Zuckerberg is the king of it…taking all those features and things that work really well.” — Crystal [37:47]
  • “To what extent can Meta copy Sora, because a lot of this comes down to how good the AI model is at creating video.” — Tim [39:16]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Instagram TV App Debate: [01:48–06:47]
• Perplexity’s Ad Pullback: [07:25–12:14]
• Crystal Scanlon Joins—Short-form Arms Race & AI Content: [13:14–41:47]
  • TikTok U.S. Algorithm & Scale Issues: [16:45–18:38]
  • Marketer Interest in Sora/Vibes: [19:06–20:26]
  • App fatigue & Creator Attitudes: [22:24–24:29]
  • Sora’s Cameo and Technical Guardrails: [24:29–27:44]
  • Disinformation & Brand Safety: [26:02–27:59]
  • Imagining Advertising in AI-first Environments: [29:44–36:09]
  • Meta & YouTube’s Response: [37:47–41:47]

Conclusion

The episode paints a lively, skeptical, and occasionally humorous portrait of a media business in flux, where platform experiments, user skepticism, and AI’s creative chaos all intermingle. The short-form video “arms race” is unfolding under the shadow of TikTok’s uncertain U.S. future. Marketers contemplate where audiences—and ad dollars—will flow next, as the early stages of AI-native content platforms like Sora and Vibes provoke equal parts excitement, unease, and curiosity. While traditional players like Meta and YouTube strategize their responses, advertisers remain watchful, chasing the ever-elusive blend of scale, safety, and innovation.