LOS ANGELES: WWE inked a partnership with TikTok as the wrestling entertainment company looks to tap into the popular short-form video app's young-skewing audience.

WWE launched an official account on TikTok, which already has over 100,000 followers. As part of the pact, WWE is making available its entrance themes for more than 30 Superstars and Hall of Famers - including "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior, Becky Lynch, John Cena and Sasha Banks - for TikTok users to incorporate into their own videos.

About 60% of TikTok's 26.5 million monthly active users in the US are between 16 and 24, according to the company. WWE isn't alone among traditional media organisations looking to leverage TikTok's reach: For example, the NFL announced a similar deal with TikTok in September.

"We are thrilled to be launching this partnership, which offers a new level of engagement with WWE content by enabling the TikTok community to create their own shareable stories tied to WWE's world-renowned Superstars," said Jayar Donlan, WWE's executive VP of advanced media, in a statement.

WWE said the deal will bring its "family-friendly entertainment" to TikTok users. The first video it uploaded is a montage of WWE talent kicking and stomping other wrestlers - a riff on the #ohnanachallenge dance meme set to Bonde R300's Oh Nanana.

TikTok is one of the most popular social apps in the world, having been installed more than 1.5 billion times, per research firm Sensor Tower. It's owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, which acquired startup Musical.ly in a US$1bil deal and that app's users to its existing TikTok app.

Recently, TikTok has come under scrutiny in the US over potential data privacy issues and whether the Chinese government is censoring content in the app. The US government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has launched a probe into ByteDance's deal to buy Musical.ly.

According to TikTok, among US users in 2019, the most popular music artists on the platform were Lil Nas X, Mariah Carey, Lizzo, Stunna Girl, Blanco Brown, Y2k & Bbno$, Kyle, Luh Kel, Billie Eilish and Ashnikko. The top celebrities on TikTok were Will Smith, Miley Cyrus, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Howie Mandel, Terry Crews and Selena Gomez.

 - Reuters