Disney+ Adding TikTok-Style Vertical Videos to Attract the Kids

With attention spans only getting shorter, Disney is looking to lock in more eyeballs on Disney+ by borrowing from TikTok’s playbook.

The studio announced Wednesday that it plans to roll out short-form, vertical video content to the Disney+ app in the U.S. later this year.

“The experience will evolve as it expands across news and entertainment and delivers a more personalized, dynamic experience that reinforces Disney+ as a must-visit daily destination,” the House of Mouse said in a post rounding up announcements from the company’s Tech + Data Showcase at CES in Las Vegas.

The move follows Disney’s launch of “Verts,” short, sports highlights and analysis clips, on the ESPN app last year.

Disney says the initiative is about boosting daily engagement on the platform. While streaming services still care about subscriber growth, more of their profit growth now depends on advertising, which requires users to show up more often and stick around longer. Short-form video is one way to do that.

TikTok, which first launched in China in 2016 before expanding globally in 2017, has perfected this type of habit-forming, daily engagement. And it didn’t take long for rivals to copy the formula. Meta rolled out Instagram Reels in 2020, and YouTube followed with Shorts in 2021.

Now, it looks like streamers are next.

Erin Teague, executive vice president of product management for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, said during remarks at CES that mobile is a major opportunity for Disney+.

“Over the next year, we’re introducing vertical video experiences on Disney+. Think all the short-form Disney content you’d want in one unified app,” said Teague. ”Over time, we’ll evolve the experience as we explore applications for a variety of formats, categories, and content types for a dynamic feed of just what you’re interested in — from Sports, News, and Entertainment — refreshed in real time based on your last visit.”

In an interview with Deadline, Teague added that the initiative is also about meeting younger audiences where they are.

“This is what Gen Z and Gen Alpha are expecting. They are not necessarily thinking about sitting down, watching a long-form, two-and-a-half-hour piece of content on their phones,” Teague told Deadline.

Disney isn’t the first streamer to experiment with vertical video. Netflix began testing a similar short-form video feed feature last year, using it largely to highlight and promote its long-form content.

Teague, however, told Deadline that Disney isn’t treating its short-form video content as previews for longer shows or movies, but as enhancements to the overall Disney+ experience.