Skydance CEO David Ellison told staff in October that streaming services must compete with major tech platforms for viewer attention. On Skydance's earnings call Monday, he noted that Paramount Plus and Warner Bros. Discovery's combined broadcast, cable, and streaming properties still trail YouTube in US television watch time according to Nielsen. Paramount Plus engagement rose more than 20 percent since Skydance acquired Paramount last year, though Ellison did not disclose performance data for the company's short-form video feed.
Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Netflix, and HBO Max have all introduced swipeable feeds of short videos in their mobile apps over the past year. Disney's Verts feed, which launched in March, was used by about 43 percent of Disney Plus mobile users by October. The feed accounted for 65 percent of user-initiated short-form video starts in the ESPN app. However, Disney did not disclose whether Verts increases movie and show viewing or extends subscriber retention.
Disney announced in August a US pilot with TikTok to bring creator-made clips into Verts. CEO Josh D'Amaro said the deal could make Disney Plus a "stickier app" where people stay longer and discover more, which "benefits our whole ecosystem." An internal roadmap reviewed by Business Insider targets early 2027 for adding creator content and calls for sports, news, and microdramas.
Paramount added a clips feed to Paramount Plus in April and explored user-generated video for a possible free tier by September. On its May earnings call, Ellison said viewers moved from clips to news, sports, and entertainment content, without specifying frequency.
HBO Max began testing Shorts with select US iPhone users in July. Netflix downplayed short-form video's role in October, six months after making Clips central to its mobile redesign. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos grouped short-form video with other early experiments and noted Netflix's core entertainment business accounted for roughly 95 percent of spending and nearly all revenue. Netflix plans to roll out themed Clips feeds in 2027.
Ross Benes, senior analyst at eMarketer, noted that mobile ads fetch less than TV ads and a short clip leaves limited room for ad breaks. He said he does not see the feeds as a big success and views them more plausibly as something to scroll through while television plays.