Streaming Services Turn to TikTok‑Style Clips to Boost Engagement

Major platforms from Disney Plus to Paramount Plus are rolling out swipeable short‑form video feeds, hoping to keep subscribers glued to their apps in the face of TikTok’s dominance.

Streaming CEOs eye TikTok‑style feeds

At a town‑hall meeting following Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, chief executive David Ellison warned staff that the combined Paramount Plus and HBO Max portfolio was still lagging behind the world’s biggest tech platforms for viewer attention. He singled out a short‑form vertical video feed as “critical to our future”, echoing a broader industry belief that a stream of bite‑size clips could turn a passive subscriber into an active app‑opener. On the company’s earnings call a few weeks later, Ellison quantified the competition, noting that even when the broadcast, cable and streaming assets of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are added together, they trail YouTube in U.S. television watch time, according to Nielsen data.

Short‑form experiments across the major platforms

Over the past twelve months Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Netflix and HBO Max have each introduced swipeable feeds of short videos inside their mobile applications. Disney’s “Verts” feed, launched in March, lets users flick through scenes, save titles or jump straight into a programme. By October, the company said roughly 43 percent of its mobile users had interacted with Verts, and the feature accounted for 65 percent of user‑initiated short‑form video starts inside the ESPN app, where highlights give fans a quick glimpse of a game without committing to a full broadcast. Paramount Plus added its own clips feed in April and, by September, was exploring user‑generated video as a possible free‑tier offering. Ellison told analysts that viewers were moving from short clips to news, sport and entertainment, though he did not disclose how frequently that transition occurred. HBO Max began testing a “Shorts” experience with a select group of U.S. iPhone users in July, allowing a tap on a clip to launch the full episode or film. The service’s quarterly results omitted HBO Max data because the quarter ended before the Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed, and the company offered no usage figures for the test. Netflix, meanwhile, has made short‑form clips a visible part of its mobile redesign. Co‑CEO Ted Sarandos described the Clips feature as one of several early experiments, stressing that the core entertainment business still accounts for roughly 95 percent of spending and nearly all revenue. The service plans to roll out themed Clips feeds in 2027, but has not released data on whether the format drives additional viewing.

Early engagement data and user interaction

The limited metrics released by the streaming giants suggest modest gains in engagement. Ellison claimed Paramount Plus engagement rose more than 20 percent after Skydance took control of the service last year, but he stopped short of linking that uplift to the clips feed. Disney’s internal data shows that a sizable share of its mobile audience is at least trying the Verts interface, yet the company has not disclosed whether the feed translates into longer viewing sessions or higher retention rates. YouTube, the benchmark for short‑form video on connected TVs, captured a record 15.8 percent of U.S. TV‑set viewing in August, according to Nielsen. The platform also leads in mobile video consumption, where it competes directly with TikTok and Instagram, according to senior analyst Ross Benes of eMarketer. Benes estimates that U.S. adults spend just over an hour and a half each day watching video on phones and about two and a half hours on connected televisions, counting simultaneous viewing on both devices. TikTok’s own model provides a useful point of comparison. The Chinese‑origin short‑form service hosts user‑submitted videos ranging from three seconds to an hour, and its recommendation engine has been credited with keeping viewers glued to an endless feed. By April 2020 the app had surpassed two billion mobile downloads worldwide, and its algorithmic “For You” page has become a cultural touchstone for rapid content discovery. Streaming services hope to replicate that stickiness by surfacing compelling moments from their own libraries in a similar swipe‑driven format.

Monetisation challenges and ad economics

Even if the feeds succeed in keeping users inside an app, turning short clips into a revenue stream remains problematic. Benes points out that mobile ads generally command lower CPMs than television spots, and a ten‑second clip offers far less inventory for ad breaks than a full‑length episode. The economics of short‑form advertising on phones therefore appear less lucrative than the traditional subscription model that underpins most streaming businesses. Netflix’s co‑CEO Greg Peters highlighted lower cancellation rates as evidence that engagement remains healthy, but he did not attribute that stability to the Clips initiative. Instead, he cited broader subscription metrics, suggesting that the short‑form experiment is still an ancillary feature rather than a core profit driver. Similarly, Disney’s CEO Josh D’Amaro described the TikTok‑powered pilot for Verts as a way to make the app “stickier”, but stopped short of quantifying any incremental ad revenue. Analysts also note that the short‑form format may serve a different purpose: acting as a discovery layer that nudges users toward longer‑form content. A well‑chosen scene can act as a trailer, prompting a viewer to open the full episode. In that sense, the feed could be viewed as a marketing tool for the parent service rather than a direct monetisation channel.

The broader battle for attention

The push for swipeable clips reflects a larger shift in how streaming platforms view the attention economy. While traditional broadcasters once relied on scheduled programming to capture viewers, today’s audiences split their time between phones, smart TVs and a plethora of social apps. TikTok’s algorithmic feed, which can fill a viewing session in seconds, has set a new expectation for immediacy and personalisation. Streaming services are betting that integrating a TikTok‑style experience will not only extend the time users spend in their apps but also reinforce the perceived value of a paid subscription. If a subscriber can scroll through a curated stream of moments from a favourite series during a brief commute, the service may feel more indispensable than a static catalogue of titles. However, the evidence remains mixed. While Disney reports high interaction rates with Verts, Paramount and HBO Max have yet to publish concrete usage figures. Netflix’s viewing hours have fallen from an average of 66 hours per member in early 2023 to 49 hours in the first half of 2026, though the company attributes the decline to broader market dynamics rather than the Clips rollout. Ultimately, the success of these experiments will hinge on whether short‑form feeds can become a habit‑forming entry point rather than a novelty. As the streaming landscape continues to borrow browsing mechanics from TikTok, the industry’s future may be defined not just by the depth of its libraries but by the speed and relevance with which it can surface the right moment at the right time.