Here’s How Netflix Plans to Add TikTok-Style Videos to Its Mobile App.
The funniest thing about smartphone addiction is that it turns even the most mundane tasks into incredibly productive ones. When I finally stop scrolling through Instagram and TikTok and watch a real movie or TV show, I feel like I spent the entire day studying physics. Platforms like Netflix, once considered a waste of time, now seem like an antidote to endless, useless scrolling.
But Netflix doesn’t seem thrilled with its new role. Instead, the company apparently views short-form video apps—and smartphones themselves—as a direct threat to its business and is actively exploiting this to its advantage. Not only is Netflix now reportedly creating content targeted at screen-swiping phone users , rewarding dialogue creators who make their shows and movies easily understandable even if you’re not paying attention.
Netflix also wants to position its mobile app as a real competitor to TikTok and Instagram by integrating a feed of short videos directly into the app.
Netflix is unveiling its own version of TikTok.
The company officially unveiled its plans for short-form video during its fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday . Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters announced that the company will launch a new app later this year that will include its version of vertical video content. This isn’t exactly news, as the company has been experimenting with vertical videos since May . But this is the first time we’ve seen a larger announcement about how Netflix plans to integrate short-form videos directly into its app.
Unlike TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you won’t have to open the Netflix app to find short videos from independent creators. Instead, Netflix will show users clips from Netflix-distributed shows and movies in a TikTok-style scrolling feed. You might scroll through this feed and see clips from Stranger Things , Emily in Paris , or His & Hers . Many of us already waste time watching clips from shows and movies on other platforms—often cropped, slowed down or sped up, low quality, and filled with artifacts designed to confuse copyright infringement. Netflix obviously won’t need this, so I expect the content will be filled with high-quality videos (depending, of course, on how you define “quality”).
The feed won’t just feature TV shows and movies. Netflix also has big plans for video podcasts, as evidenced by recent programs like The Pete Davidson Show and recent deals with Spotify and iHeartMedia to bring existing podcasts to its platform. Netflix is expected to incorporate snippets of these video podcasts into the feed of short videos, creating an experience not too dissimilar to scrolling through the feed on other apps. And how many snippets of video podcasts, TV shows, and movies do you see on TikTok?
As Netflix gets closer to acquiring Warner Bros. , a lot of official short-form content could soon appear on the Netflix app. If and when the deal is finalized, I wouldn’t be surprised to see clips from HBO series like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms , White Lotus , and Euphoria .
Targeted at people with short attention spans.
From a business perspective, I understand the decision: Netflix is likely losing subscribers due to the addictive nature of vertical video apps. But do we really need another app to scroll through, especially when we’re already paying for access to all the content? It might be a useful way to discover new shows and movies, but more likely, it’ll just become another addictive time-waster. I have enough of those apps in my life already.