From Disney+ to microdrama apps, what’s behind the pivot to vertical video?

Vertical video is growing beyond the confines of social video platforms — and the entertainment industry is paying attention.

Last month, Disney+ introduced Verts in the U.S., a new feature on its mobile app where users swipe through clips from shows and movies, more akin to TikTok than a subscription streaming service.

Earlier this year, Netflix began testing vertical video features on its mobile app as well, part of a new interface that co-CEO Greg Peters said would “better serve the expansion of our business over the decade to come.”

As premium publishers adopt vertical video features, so-called brand-sponsored microdramas and vertical-format microdrama apps are on the rise.

The trend raises a number of questions: Why is the vertical format suddenly blowing up? Is the hype real or just a phase? And what value could it offer to publishers and advertisers?

“Vertical video is the modern-day equivalent of the TV guide. It is where younger viewers discover what content they want to watch,” said Ben Woods, creator economy analyst at Midia Research. “Creators have turned vertical video into a discovery engine for long-form content that the wider entertainment industry is now adopting.”

Competing with social platforms for attention

For the likes of Disney+ and Netflix, the move is relatively low risk, according to Josh Rustage, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis. He sees these vertical video strategies as a natural evolution.

“Device usage has become increasingly diversified. … Having something accessible that’s short-form with content that can be repurposed from existing catalogs is safe and sensible,” he said.

And if it funnels more engagement to longer-form content on their platforms, it can drive higher ad impressions — a win for their ad-supported tiers.

Scrolling a vertical video feed of short clips can be a better way to discover and engage with content than navigating the main interface, making it a more direct competitor to social platforms for users’ time, Woods said.

“Higher engagement sharpens the story around why advertisers should commit more spend towards their AVOD services,” he said. “However, this vertical video push should be about using social platform engagement techniques to ensure premium content reaches those who want to watch it, in the ways they want to watch it.”

That distinction is ever more crucial as AI-generated vertical content floods social video platforms; for instance, an AI-created “dating show” called Fruit Love Island went viral on TikTok.

In other words, it’s not solely about attention-grabbing for the sake of it. The real opportunity is to use social-style discovery to connect audiences with premium content on their own terms.

How real is the microdrama boom?

Vertically oriented microdrama, or short drama, apps doubled in global downloads from 2024 to 2025, according to Sensor Tower. Platforms like DramaBox and the Chinese app ReelShort specialize in mini-episodes of only a couple of minutes each.

However, the boom comes with caveats: It’s largely an Asian phenomenon — Asia accounted for over half the of time spent on the apps, while North America contributed only around 5%. In the U.S., downloads of ReelShort last year trailed Netflix, and DramaBox lags behind most of the major subscription streamers.

Then there’s the content. The apps seem to specialize in, well, let’s just say sultry stories, with programs titled Pucked in the Friend Zone and I Went to the Mafia Boss for a Baby. As Jim Louderback, author of the newsletter Inside the Creator Economy, told The Current, it’s not exactly prestige TV.

Rustage noted that the microdramas follow similar story tropes as traditional soap operas. From a brand-safety standpoint, that’s not exactly a concern, he said. ReelShort, for instance, monetizes content through a “virtual currency” model, where viewers can unlock more episodes by watching ads or purchasing coins.

The main issue for advertisers would be integration. “The content is short, so longer ads will stand out,” Rustage said. To that end, some brands — like Procter & Gamble, JCPenney and Crocs — are producing their own sponsored microdramas.

“In this culture of trying to break the algorithm and stop the scroll, you’re really thinking about how to storytell in very short stints,” Carly Gomez, Crocs’ CMO, told The Wall Street Journal. Crocs’ short drama drove nearly 8 million views on ReelShorts in three weeks, according to the Journal.

Lessons Hollywood should — and shouldn’t — learn from microdramas

For premium entertainment brands, Woods cautioned that while the microdrama boom is real, their popularity is also easy to misinterpret.

“What microdrama apps are capturing is disposable attention, not long-term fandom,” he said. “Vertical feeds are becoming the default way audiences find content. Microdrama apps are essentially stress testing what happens when you fully commit to that model.”

His advice for streamers: Borrow the discovery mechanics, not the mindset. “If streamers take anything from this, it should be about using short-form and vertical video to deepen engagement with their worlds and drive audiences into their ecosystems — not about turning their platforms into infinite-scroll environments that prioritize consumption over connection.”