Everywhere you turn, heads are bowed, eyes glued to glowing rectangles. A relentless scroll through endless vertical videos has become the defining gesture of our time. It’s a habit witnessed in quiet coffee shops, crowded subway cars, and even in the intimacy of our own homes.
This once-mobile phenomenon is now poised to invade our living rooms. While YouTube Shorts have already claimed the big screen, the giants of long-form streaming are now considering a similar shift. The allure of capturing daily attention is proving too strong to resist.
Disney recently signaled its intent to experiment with vertical videos on Disney+, aiming to transform the platform into an essential daily destination. Now, Netflix is joining the fray, seriously exploring the potential of “verts” as a key component of its future.
Netflix envisions these short-form videos as a perfect vehicle for expanding into new content areas, particularly video podcasts. The company’s co-CEO suggests they could offer a fresh way to engage viewers with bite-sized content.
It’s a temptation I understand all too well. Despite my reservations, I find myself drawn into the hypnotic pull of the vertical feed. The endless stream of content is surprisingly captivating, a digital equivalent of a flock of pigeons descending on a dropped bagel.
I’m even open to the idea of “verts” within the mobile apps of Disney+ and Netflix. Short teasers for upcoming shows, or snippets of video podcasts, feel like a natural fit for on-the-go viewing.
Netflix has already been experimenting with vertical previews on its mobile platform, and the experience is undeniably convenient. It’s a welcome alternative to endlessly scrolling through rows of familiar titles on the television app.
However, the prospect of vertical shorts dominating our largest screens feels fundamentally wrong. There’s an inherent intimacy to these videos – they are small, fleeting, and best enjoyed in private, like a stolen indulgence.
The idea of long-form streamers embracing verticals inevitably evokes the memory of Quibi, a high-profile venture that spectacularly failed. Backed by industry heavyweights, Quibi aimed to deliver premium, paid vertical content directly to mobile devices.
Launched in 2020, Quibi imploded within six months, burning through an astonishing $1.7 billion. Despite Roku acquiring the library and briefly rebranding the content, the experiment ultimately proved unsustainable.
The lessons of Quibi are stark. The market simply wasn’t ready for paid, big-screen vertical videos. And personally, I suspect that remains true today. The desire for this format from major streaming services feels misplaced.
At least, *I* don’t want it. The thought of a vertically framed video stretching across an 80-inch screen feels like a distortion of the medium, a compromise that diminishes the viewing experience.
