When word first emerged that TikTok might be banned in the United States, surprising things emerged after the fact. First, “Shark Tank” alum and famous entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary noted that he would be interested in buying TikTok himself or at least being part of a coalition that did. Now, it turns out O’Leary might have either competition or a partner – the video platform Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM). The news rallied investors and sent Rumble blasting up over 21% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
Rumble’s CEO, Chris Pavlovski, took to X—formerly Twitter—to note that his company was ready to “…serve as a cloud technology partner” with TikTok. The move to force TikTok to divest its U.S. interests is on the rise, as the Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to approve a bill that would require such an event to happen.
Now, it’s looking to go for a House of Representatives vote, as, amazingly, elements of the House and Senate look to do what the Trump administration tried to do but was rebuffed by the courts. However, the Biden administration picked that ball up and almost begrudgingly ran with it, setting up a national security review, while a ban on TikTok on federal devices went through Congress with little incident.
TikTok Represents a Major Opportunity to Get in with Advertisers
TikTok’s immense popularity represents a point that even YouTube has recently discovered: ultra-short form media is catching a lot of attention these days. Attention, in online video, is basically the same as ad revenue, so TikTok represents a major opportunity to get in with advertisers, especially if it no longer has political issues hanging over it.
Rumble, for its part, pointed out the release of Rumble Cloud, which is looking to get interest from businesses worried about censorship or lock-in pricing. Having TikTok’s content in Rumble’s hands could make Rumble a serious competitor to even YouTube.
Is Rumble a Good Investment?
Turning to Wall Street, a look at the last five trading days for RUM stock shows that it had been in something of a slow decline since March 8. But with today’s arrival, Rumble started an upward track that it only recently managed to plateau on. The gains might be exhausted for the day, but a Rumble with TikTok in its hands might make a lot of difference.
