More vertical video features are coming to Netflix. Co-CEO Greg Peters revealed plans to expand the streamer’s mobile vertical video feed during Tuesday’s earnings call.
Testing is already underway to expand the mobile experience, which currently features vertical clips of Netflix TV shows and movies. New vertical video content, including snippets from video podcasts, will be available on Netflix this year.
«You can imagine us bringing more clips based on new content types, like video podcasts, which Ted [Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO] mentioned that we’re adding to the general service,» Peters said. «We’ll bring the sort of appropriate components of that into that vertical video feed.»
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Netflix’s move to expand its vertical video offerings comes after Sarandos acknowledged during the earnings call that social media apps like Instagram are now seen as competitors.
«TV is not what we grew up on. TV is now just about everything,» Sarandos said. «The Oscars and the NFL are on YouTube. Networks are simulcasting the Super Bowl on linear TV and streaming. Amazon owns MGM, Apple is competing for Emmys and Oscars, and Instagram is coming next.»
Competing with the likes of Instagram and TikTok means evolving the content the platform offers. And if it wants to attract Gen Z viewers, leaning into bite-sized vertical clips of live programming like WWE Raw, competition series Star Search and significant moments from Netflix hits like Stranger Things and KPop Demon Hunters is a good place to start.
«Vertical» is the hot buzzword in Hollywood right now. New production studios are dedicated to the mobile-first content, and with the massive popularity of vertical micro-dramas — which Variety calls «a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon» — more streamers will likely follow suit in the near future.
Peters also revealed Netflix’s plan to overhaul its mobile interface to «better serve the expansion of our business over the decade to come.»
«We’re going to roll this out later in 2026, and just like our TV UI, it then becomes a starting point, it becomes a platform for us to continue to iterate, test, evolve and improve our offering,» he said.