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X (formerly Twitter) inks a first-of-its-kind deal with celebrity Paris Hilton focused around live shopping and other exclusive content as CEO Linda Yaccarino attempts to refocus shake up the fate of the platform.
The two-year deal calls for the US socialite to work with X to produce four original video shows per year, including its nascent live shopping space, the company said. Hilton will also produce content on other X media, such as the Spaces audio feature, it added.
The social media platform added that Hilton’s 11:11 Media company and X had reached a revenue-sharing agreement, saying the financial arrangement was “attractive” to both parties.
The partnership will be a test for Yacarino, who joined the platform as chief executive in June. She will be tasked with reviving revenue after many advertisers canceled spending out of concern about loosening policies since billionaire Elon Musk spent $44 billion to acquire the platform nearly a year ago. Musk said last month that U.S. revenue was down 60%, but he did not specify when.
Yacarino has been on a charm offensive, meeting with Hollywood groups such as Creative Artists Agency and United Talent Agency to attract stars and influencers to attract users and advertisers to the platform.
The ideal partnership is part of her strategy to grow her audience, sell more ads, and facilitate sponsorship and brand deals between advertisers and creators.
This comes after Jacarino faced widespread criticism after a testy interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin at last week’s Code Conference, in which she made some comments about X’s user metrics question and insisted he was under the CEO’s authority despite Musk’s repeated interference.
On the same day, the Financial Times published an interview with Yacarino, in which she repeatedly avoided questions about platform security and policies.
On Thursday, Yaccarino will meet with bankers from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, BNP Paribas, Mizuho and Societe Generale, who are working on Musk’s acquisition of the company. Platform provided the funding and laid out her vision for the company.
Social media groups including TikTok have recently invested in live streaming shopping capabilities in the West, following their success in Asian markets. However, Meta and YouTube’s experiments have had only limited success, as Western consumers are still unfamiliar with the format.
X (then known as Twitter), which made a foray into livestreaming shopping in 2021 with little success, now has a product that allows users to watch, talk and shop in the same window. The company said that while watching Hilton’s live broadcast on X, users will be able to browse the product catalog and then click to the website where the items are sold to make purchases through its in-app browser.
X said it will work to help Hilton secure brand sponsorships for every program on its platform, including live shopping. X said her regular videos will focus on themes like Halloween, music, motherhood and cooking, while Hilton will also help the company promote new consumer products and feature launches.
Hilton, which has 16.6 million followers on
Earlier this year, former Fox host Tucker Carlson announced that he would be relaunching his show on X. However, Musk insists the pair haven’t signed a deal yet, other than that Carlson will benefit from a new ad revenue-sharing feature for larger influencers on the platform.
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