Netflix announced on Wednesday that it’s testing a short-form video feature, signaling that even a streaming giant with over 300 million subscribers is concerned about losing viewers’ time spent on mobile to apps like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.
The company debuted the feature at its first-ever product and tech event, where it also revealed several other upcoming plans for the service. These plans include an AI-powered search tool, as well as a redesign of the TV homepage and improved real-time recommendations.
Netflix’s new mobile-only vertical feed allows users to easily scroll through clips of its original titles. Within this feed, users can tap on buttons to watch the entire show or movie immediately, save it to their “My List,” or share it with friends.
Of note is that the clips are curated from the “Today’s Top Picks for You” section rather than being chosen from Netflix’s entire library. This approach makes it specifically tailored to each user, ultimately encouraging viewers to watch the full shows.
The experiment rolls out globally in the coming weeks on iOS and Android devices. It’ll appear for users as a tab on the in-app homepage.
The introduction of this feature comes at a pivotal time, as competition among platforms for viewer attention intensifies. Audiences increasingly favor quick entertainment, leading to a shift in traditional viewing habits. As a result, even large players like Netflix are adapting to retain and attract subscribers. This also follows President Trump’s second extension of the deadline for the TikTok ban.
The latest test follows a trend among other streaming services that are trying out similar features. Tubi had its entry into short-form video last year with its “Scenes” feature. More recently, Peacock launched curated vertical video playlists earlier this year that not only feature short clips from TV series and films but also sports and news content.
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Netflix is no stranger to experimenting with short-form video content. In 2021, the platform rolled out a TikTok-inspired feature called “Fast Laughs,” which focused on funny clips. However, this new test aims to reach a broader audience beyond just comedy fans and will be more personalized.
In terms of Netflix’s new homepage update, one small change implemented is that the shortcuts for “Search” and “My List” were moved to the top of the page, where they were previously located on the left-hand side, making them easier to access.
Netflix also has new “callout” badges that help viewers discover titles. For example, if users are searching for the latest Emmy-winning content, these badges will be prominently displayed on the title cards featured on the homepage.
Additionally, Netflix improved its real-time recommendation system. Now when subscribers search for content, it considers factors such as the trailer a viewer recently watched or the actors they are looking up. For instance, if they give a thumbs-up to the popular TV series “Wednesday,” the system will quickly adjust their homepage to display similar recommended titles.
