Disney+ has hopped onto the short-form vertical video bandwagon with the launch of its own TikTok-style feed in the US. Called Verts, the feature is advertised as a “new way for fans to connect with the stories they love”. The idea here is for subscribers to find the next thing to watch by scrolling through a stream of short clips.
Designed to be a “mobile-first” feature, Verts is accessed through an icon on the app’s navigation bar. Tapping it brings up a dynamic feed featuring a selection of scenes from Disney+ shows and movies. From there, viewers can tap a button to immediately begin streaming the show or movie. Another button saves the content for later viewing.
According to Disney, early tests showed that Verts has driven additional engagement. The company also claims that this is true for the version for the ESPN app as well. It went on to attribute this achievement to the “new advanced algorithm” powering the recommendation engine, which offers each user with a personalised experience.
While the brand has yet to disclose any plans to expand the feature outside of the US, it does promise more things to come. As per its announcement, the launch is merely the beginning. In its current state, Verts focuses on utility and scale. However, the company wants to move beyond just content discovery.
Some plans include introducing opportunities for creators to add content that reflects Disney fandoms. One may recall the licensing deal with OpenAI, which lets users generate AI clips of the company’s characters. At the time, Disney stated that it will stream curated selections of such videos on the app, so Verts may include them in the future. Other than that, Disney floated the idea of different storytelling formats and content types.
(Source: Disney+)
