Big Brands Are Going Vertical: The Next OTT Shift 

The next battle in video is not only about who has the biggest catalogue. It is about who owns the audience’s next swipe. As attention moves to mobile, vertical video is moving with it – straight into the strategy of the biggest media companies.

Netflix: From Catalogue Power to Daily Attention 

Netflix has 325+ million paid memberships. Yet in the US, YouTube commands 13.4% of total TV viewing versus Netflix’s 7.8%, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge. The gap is about more than screen time. It is about frequency. 

Netflix is responding by treating vertical video as a product experience, not just a marketing tool. Its mobile-first experience brings social-style discovery into the platform, using short clips from films, series and podcasts to turn a quick swipe into a full viewing session. 

With Netflix targeting around $3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026, vertical also represents a new opportunity for premium advertising inventory. As Disney+ and other major platforms move in the same direction, vertical is becoming a new layer of the OTT ecosystem - connecting discovery, engagement and monetization. 

Globo: Vertical Goes Mainstream 

Globo is taking vertical beyond social and putting it at the heart of its evolving media strategy. 

Globo’s new direction centers on four pillars - multi-format, multi-distribution, multigenerational and multisolutions - all built around changing how audiences consume media. DecodeTV reports that 30 initiatives are driving this change. 

That shift is already taking shape with GloboPop, Globo’s free, mobile-first vertical video experience. It brings together original productions, content from across the Globo universe and creator content spanning entertainment, news, sport, music, reality and short-form storytelling. Globo is also taking microdramas and vertical discovery deeper into Globoplay. 

Capture the swipe. Keep the audience. Move them deeper into premium content.

That is the real opportunity for broadcasters: vertical is not another format to add to the mix. It is a new discovery layer for the OTT ecosystem - and a new surface for monetization. 

Building the Next Generation of OTT Experiences 

Vertical is becoming a core layer of modern OTT platforms, but winning requires more than adding a feed. It requires connecting discovery, engagement, and monetization into one seamless experience. 

Backscreen App helps broadcasters, operators and streaming platforms turn vertical attention into business value, combining mobile-first discovery with advertising, subscriptions and content conversion. 

The same principle is already powering new-generation OTT services such as LNK GO, built with Backscreen to combine live TV, VOD, exclusive content and advanced advertising monetization in one cross-generation experience. 

The future of OTT is not just about what audiences watch. It is about how they discover it and what happens after the swipe.