Netflix is finally launching a full-scale attack on short-form video! After about half a year of...testLater, Netflix confirmed that it will officially launch the new Vertical Video interface on its mobile app later in 2026. This feature is not only to keep up with the usage habits of TikTok and YouTube Shorts, but will also become an important weapon for Netflix to promote its movies, series, and latest masterpiece - "video podcasts".
More than just a trailer, it's an entry point to "new content".
This new interface allows users to browse short clips of Netflix content by swiping up and down, much like scrolling through TikTok. This isn't Netflix's first foray into short videos, but this time the integration is much deeper.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters revealed during the earnings call that this feature will be used to promote more diverse new types of content, such as "video podcasts." In fact, Netflix just launched its first batch of original podcasts last week, featuring sports commentator Michael Irvin and comedian Pete Davidson, and even hosting popular shows from The Ringer like the Bill Simmons Podcast, clearly aiming to compete with YouTube for "listen/watch" time.
Revenue to exceed $450 billion by 2025, advertising solutions become a cash cow.
In addition to product redesign, Netflix also released an impressive performance report for 2025.
• Annual Revenue:It reached $452 billion.
• Advertising revenue:Low-cost advertising programs contributed $15 billion.
• Number of subscribers:By the end of 2025, the number of paid subscribers worldwide had exceeded 3.25 million.
Despite facing fierce competition from YouTube and other social media platforms, Netflix has still delivered solid growth figures, demonstrating that its content moat remains incredibly deep.
Analysis of viewpoints
Netflix's move to "short video content" is actually an inevitable reflection of its anxieties.
Although subscription numbers are still rising, in the eyes of Gen Z, the process of "finding a movie" on Netflix often takes longer than "watching" a movie, and it's even less relaxing than just scrolling through TikTok a few times. Through its vertical video interface, Netflix is actually trying to solve the pain point of "content discovery"—instead of letting you stare at static thumbnails, it directly feeds you the most exciting 15-second clips.
What's even more interesting is the strategy behind "video and audio podcasts." This market used to be almost entirely dominated by YouTube, but Netflix discovered that users were spending increasingly more time on television, turning podcasts to the big screen (or mobile phones) into a low-cost, highly engaging content format. If they can cultivate a user base that habitually "listens" to Netflix here, it will be a huge boon to their ad-supported tier, since podcast listeners are generally more tolerant of advertising than those who binge-watch TV series.
On the other hand, Disney announced during CES 2026 that it will officially launch Disney+ in the US this year.Import vertical video formatThe company hopes to attract younger users to open the app more frequently, rather than just for watching feature films. It is speculated that Disney may leverage its vast IP resources to create short-form content suitable for mobile viewing.
