Disney+ to Add Vertical Videos to Its Streaming App

Disney+ is poised to incorporate vertical videos into its streaming app, a significant move that reflects the mobile-first behaviors that define how we watch today. The extension was previewed at a company showcase at CES and billed as a way to increase engagement but is not viewed as merely marketing longer programs, Deadline reported, and Disney executives told TheWrap.

The shift is evidence that short-form, swipeable viewing (the domain of social networks) has finally established a beachhead in premium streaming. And it poses some practical questions for the creators, advertisers, and viewers about how such vertical clips sit alongside tentpole series and films within Disney+.

Why Vertical Video Is Important in Streaming Today

The screen that is the default for much of the world now, the mobile view, is held upright most of the time. Platforms created around 9:16 video content have conditioned audiences to seek out lean-back feeds that are snackable, personalized, and endlessly scrollable. YouTube has said that Shorts is available to more than 2 billion logged-in users each month, and research from firms including Data.ai and Sensor Tower repeatedly finds short-form apps at the top of the rankings for time spent.

For streamers whose libraries run deep, vertical clips can be a kind of discovery engine that highlights catalog moments people might otherwise miss.

But the trick only works if the content is satisfying on its own. That seems to be the hope here: Disney executives have said that vertical experiences will feel at home on the platform, and won’t just be trailers diced for a smaller screen.

What Disney Plans to Offer in Vertical Video

Look for a combination of original short-form videos, curated social-native clips, and reconfigured excerpts from longer Disney+ fare. In an interview with Deadline, Erin Teague, EVP of product management for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, said the aim was to develop a coherent scrollable experience in line with what people are already doing on mobile — but not to degrade the feed into a collection of teasers.

That is to say, you could encounter quick-hit character moments from major franchises, behind-the-scenes snippets, sports highlights accompanied by on-screen context, creator-led and stand-alone segments. The approach mirrors what has been successful for social video, but brings with it Disney’s editorial standards and brand guidelines to keep the experience on message and safe for a broad audience.

A Testbed for Vertical Video Already Exists in Sports

Disney has been practicing this playbook in sports. In 2025, ESPN unveiled a “Verts” tab in its app to present vertical highlights, commentary, and fast analysis. That rollout diverged from the constant-firehose approach we’re used to, giving us a taste of what it would be like if a premium brand translated fast-moving feeds into something that felt filtered. Also look for learnings from ESPN — particularly about pacing, personalization, and metadata — to come into play as vertical video makes its way inside Disney+.

Sports also showed the power of context: a vertical clip that tells you right off who is playing, what the score is, and why you should care is much stickier than pure raw footage. The application of that discipline to entertainment properties might just be the difference between a forgettable scroll and something that motivates you to watch a whole series.

Design Decisions and Where Vertical Video Might Live

Disney has not provided details about the interface, but the fact that it keeps talking about “native behaviors” suggests a mobile-first rollout in which we open an app, click on a tab or rail, and then visit full-screen, swipeable something-or-other. On the smart TV, companies usually show vertical content with tasteful pillarboxing or as multi-tile carousels — something we’ve witnessed in experiments across the industry recently — so it looks good without stretching awkwardly.

One of the biggest challenges, she said, will be a type of discovery without disruption. When done well, the feed complements rather than competes with the home screen and the watchlist, surfacing timely clips when there’s a new episode of something or a franchise is trending, all while honoring those who come to Disney+ for traditional long-form viewing.

Ad Strategy and the Economics of Vertical Video Engagement

The business case is clear. Disney+ has touted its ad-supported tier, and vertically integrated inventory enables new formats — short interstitials, branded segments, shoppable positions tied to franchises. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has consistently documented the growth of spend on short-form video while brands have gravitated toward vertical formats for their elevated view-through rates and thumb-stopping creative limitations.

On a service fueled by premium IP, vertical video is also nimble for testing. If a 20-second snippet is still important enough to get users to the end and send them away with an armful of saved content, then that signal can be used to dictate edits in a trailer, product placement, or even decisions on greenlighting. And yet if people swipe past certain beats, editors and marketers learn in close to real time.

How Disney+’s Vertical Video Approach Compares With Rivals

Streamers have dabbled with short-form in the past — Netflix’s Fast Laughs, for one, bundles clips into a vertical feed to help discovery — but Disney+’s use of a more wide-ranging, cross-genre vertical layer is noteworthy given the company’s raft of franchises and its family footprint.

Unlike open social platforms, the content here is confined within the controlled subscription ecosystem and could be more appealing to concerned parents and advertisers.

The big swing isn’t merely copying a social feed; it’s translating what makes social addictive into something additive for a streaming service. If Disney+ strikes that right balance, vertical video could be a front door to the library, rather than a distraction from it.