Other than small or large screen: the most popular one is… vertical. Of the telephone, obviously. If once upon a time the scandal was zapping, the new entertainment-breaking word is called “shaking”. That of videos on social networks, to which the entertainment industry is now adapting. Since we are all dependent on smartphones (we use them on average 6 hours a day), streaming platforms, from Netflix to Mediaset Infinity, are starting to complement their traditional formats with some content designed specifically for vertical viewing.
The goal? It is declared by the companies themselves: on the one hand to increase the daily involvement of subscribers, helping them to discover new titles, on the other to intercept an already consolidated habit, competing with Instagram and TikTok for users’ time and attention. Not only captured in moments of waiting (in queues, on public transport, whilst travelling…), but also in relaxing situations: according to recent research, over half of adults aged between 45 and 54 scroll through videos on their mobile phone even while on the sofa in front of the television.
“Vertical films are perfect daily rituals: short, immediate, easily consumable experiences,” explained Erin Teague, product manager at Disney Entertainment, from the stage of the Consumer electronics show in Las Vegas in January. The Californian company was actually announcing the introduction of the vertical format by the end of December, but in reality the experimentation is already underway with Verts, a collection of short sports clips on ESPN, the application of the Disney-owned network of the same name.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are traveling in the same direction, having named the service Clip and Clips respectively. The new features will be released gradually, starting from the United States and then in the rest of the world, but Mediaset Infinity could arrive in Italy first: even if there is no official date yet, the Cologno Monzese group’s platform says that it will introduce vertical content immediately after the summer.
Contradiction or natural evolution of the on demand sector? «I would say both», comments Luca Barra, professor of Television and digital media at the University of Bologna. «On the one hand, it’s a bit of an admission of failure: until a few years ago, streaming platforms presented themselves as something new that would allow us to watch films and series more freely than what happened on television, while today, to keep their audience anchored, they bend to an extremely different mode of consumption. On the other hand, a significant portion of the content circulating on social media derives from the original productions of these companies, so why not monetize them at home?”.
The “feeds”, i.e. video streams designed for the smartphone, will be powered by an algorithm based on the user’s tastes, just as happens on Instagram and TikTok, and populated by videos of various kinds: highlights of the most loved titles, behind the scenes, social content, one day perhaps even podcasts and live programmes.
«They will also become new spaces for advertising», underlines Barra. «The real reason why Instagram adopted “stories” years ago is that initially too much advertising could not be inserted between the posts. While we scroll, however, we are used to seeing at least one promotional message every three-four videos: a crowding that is completely incomparable compared to what a streaming service can afford to insert into a film or series”.
But the real goose that lays the golden eggs will be the so-called “micro-drama”, a genre born in China and already widespread in America, which fascinates the new generations and which could become the protagonist of the future on demand offer. These are fiction films shot vertically with episodes of one to two minutes maximum, just like a TikTok video or an Instagram story. «They are very low-cost productions», explains the expert, «based on simple narratives, full of key scenes and moments of great emotional intensity with tears, screams, arguments; a bit like in old soap operas.”
According to an Omdia analysis of mobile usage data, users in the United States spend more time watching micro-dramas on smartphone apps than they spend watching Netflix & co. on the same devices: global revenues from these mini series are estimated to have reached $11 billion in 2025 and will grow to $14 billion by the end of 2026.
There are already several online catalogues, also accessible in Italian, such as ReelShort or MyDrama, specialized in the genre. At the moment they are all foreign productions, but something is starting to move in our country too: if in May the Turkish media company Iki Dakika Creative House, specialized in vertical series, announced its entry into the Italian market with the creation of a local drama, the most far-sighted was Maria De Filippi.
Fascino, his production company co-owned with Mediaset, has already created one, Tutto in una notte, available from April on Witty TV in 54 episodes of less than a minute, and will soon shoot three more. The reception of this first mini series, written and directed by Mauro Monaco, historical author of Amici e Tù Sì que vales, and by screenwriter Mizio Curcio, was so positive (it exceeded 23 million views), that in autumn it could be distributed on the new Infinity feed.
After all, the vertical format isn’t just changing streaming. Even Hollywood has long understood that it can use it as bait to intercept younger audiences and get them interested in cinema. This is demonstrated by some marketing initiatives, primarily Disney which, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of High School Musical in January, broke up the entire comedy into 52 vertical clips on TikTok. More generally, production companies know that by adapting promotion to social media they will have greater success at the box office: in 2025 at least 15 of the 20 highest grossing films in Europe were also viral with various types of content. This explains why Hollywood shells out money to digital marketing agencies to edit video trailers that make films more appealing to users.
In short, the game is played on our attention span: research says it lasts eight seconds. Just enough time to read a few lines, open an umbrella, wait for the metro to arrive or watch a short video, strictly vertically.
