Over the past year, nearly every major U.S. streaming video service has developed its own TikTok-style vertical video feed in its mobile app, as discussed in the October 2026 Luminate report Social Media & Entertainment Discovery.
Content discovery has been positioned as the biggest initial rationale for revamping mobile apps with vertical video feeds. This makes more sense when we consider how influential social media and short-form video have become in aiding entertainment content discovery alongside streaming services, particularly for younger viewers.
Over half (57%) of U.S. viewers ages 18-24 use short-form video to find new movies and TV shows to watch, narrowly surpassing browsing on streaming services (55%), according to Luminate’s U.S. Entertainment 365 survey.
Scrollable social feeds, primarily accessed on smartphones, have given audiences an alternative path to discover long-form content.
On streaming services, viewers browse carousels of curated tiles before selecting a title. On social media, users scroll an algorithmic feed of clips, such as moments from movies or shows, behind-the-scenes interviews or creator content that inspires them to seek out and engage with the original content off platform.
Thus, streaming service mobile app revamps are primarily focused on adopting the mechanisms of mobile-first social feeds to bring these discovery and engagement behaviors inside their own apps.
While a lot of focus has been placed on vertical, the more pivotal word in the vertical video push in streaming service mobile apps is “mobile.” Social media feeds adapted to mobile usage in the transition away from desktop, but streaming services haven’t done the same to establish mobile-native experiences designed for consumption on smaller screens.
As short-form video increasingly dominates social feeds, social platforms now more directly compete for time and attention consumers spend with any video content, regardless of whether it’s user generated or premium. Media multitasking is common, including second-screening on social media while watching TV.
A similar incursion applies to CTV, where YouTube now dominates streaming, with 15.8% share of viewing on TV screens, per the most recent edition of the Nielsen Gauge, which tracked August 2026. YouTube last year became the “primary device” for watching YouTube in the U.S., surpassing mobile. Instagram and TikTok are also reportedly developing CTV apps.
As streaming service mobile revamps get further underway, the vertical video feed stands to become a surface for introducing mobile-first content — not to mention ad formats. Beyond verticalized clips of existing long-form content, there are signs of the former, including microdramas, video podcasts and creator-led content.
Studios are producing, licensing or investing in microdramas, the format that has blasted off on a crop of microdrama-focused apps, as well as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Peacock is the earliest mover with a dedicated hub, “Your Bravoverse,” in its mobile app, offering original scripted and unscripted microdramas. Disney+ and Paramount+ are also expected to launch original microdramas.
Studios may also enlist creators to diversify videos in vertical feeds, such as Disney’s partnership with TikTok in August allowing creators to feature characters from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars in videos on both TikTok and Verts on Disney+.
The bigger challenge will be driving audiences into mobile app experiences of streaming services in the first place and then forming habits around regular use.
Ultimately, these feeds are about establishing a competitive presence on mobile, enabling and owning the behaviors that consumers already use on social media to discover content, to drive audiences into deeper experiences with long-form content and IP.
