Following the announcement earlier this month that Disney+ plans to launch a new vertical video product later this year, Netflix has also confirmed plans to increase its vertical content.
During the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call, co-CEO Greg Peters told analysts the company has been trialling vertical video on its mobile app for around six months.
The feed is currently showcasing clips from Netflix’s films and TV series, but Peters said he expects it to expand to include new content types such as video podcasts, an area that the streamer has been busy building in recent months. Netflix recently signed a deal with The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, which will be available to subscribers during this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
The inclusion of vertical video is part of a “broader upgrade” of the streamer’s mobile experience, added Peters.
“Just as you’ve seen us do with the new TV UI, we’re working on a new mobile UI that will better serve the expansion of our business over the decade to come. We’re going to roll this out later in 2026. And just like our TV UI, it then becomes a starting point. It becomes a platform for us to continue to iterate, test, evolve, and improve our offerings.”
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos also discussed the changing TV landscape, and how Netflix is seeing increasing competition from the likes of Instagram. “The TV market is extremely dynamic and very competitive. In fact, [it] has never been more competitive than it is today.
“There’s never been more competition for creators. For consumer attention, for advertising and subscription dollars. The competitive lines around TV consumption are already blurring, you know, as a number of services put their content on both the linear channels and the streaming services at the same time. And more platforms are making their way into the TV, in your living room. Instagram is coming next.
“YouTube just surpassed the BBC’s monthly average audience, according to Barb in the UK,” added Sarandos. “So YouTube is not just UGC and cat videos anymore. YouTube has full-length films. New episodes of scripted and unscripted TV shows. The BBC is going be producing original content for YouTube soon. They are TV. So we all compete with them in every dimension. For talent, for ad dollars, for subscription dollars, for all forms of content.”
