Disney is gearing up to expand its presence in the mobile video sector with plans to introduce a new vertical video product on Disney+ within the next year. This initiative will showcase short-form content from across the company’s extensive entertainment portfolio, including news and sports programming. The announcement was made during an event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The initiative to incorporate vertical video follows ESPN’s recent efforts to enhance user engagement through “verts,” a feature in its app that offers a novel way to consume sports highlights. Disney aims to replicate that success by unifying various live offerings from ESPN, ABC News, and Hulu Plus Live TV into a streamlined platform.
Erin Teague, Executive VP of Product Management, emphasized the company’s focus on creating mobile-first experiences. “We know that mobile is an incredible opportunity to turn Disney+ into a true daily destination for fans,” she stated during the event, which was streamed online. Teague highlighted that the upcoming vertical video experiences would consolidate all short-form Disney content into a single application, evolving over time to include various formats and categories. The goal is to provide a dynamic, real-time feed tailored to users’ interests in sports, news, and entertainment.
In addition to vertical video content, Disney executives highlighted advancements in technology and artificial intelligence during the presentation. The company is developing AI-powered ad planning tools and an innovative video generation tool, designed to enable advertisers to quickly create and deploy ads suitable for connected TV (CTV).
“This isn’t just an AI model creating a clip,” noted Disney executive VO Tony Donohoe during a demonstration of the new capabilities. He elaborated on the complexity of the underlying technology, which combines multiple AI models to manage various aspects of ad creation, including script development, storyboarding, and audio integration, all while maintaining human oversight to ensure quality and compliance.
Donohoe explained that the new capability aims to present the right creative content to the right audience at the right time, enhancing user engagement. AI emerged as a recurring theme throughout the event, particularly following Disney’s recent partnership with OpenAI to bring some of its iconic characters and narratives to OpenAI’s Sora. This collaboration is expected to eventually allow user-generated content to be featured on Disney+.
Teague described AI as an “accelerator” and “amplifier,” underscoring the importance of collaborations with partners like OpenAI. “We want to empower a new generation of fandom that is more interactive and immersive, while also respecting human creativity and protecting user safety,” she stated. This focus on interactivity is particularly crucial for engaging Generation Alpha, the first generation to grow up with AI as a central aspect of their lives.
Teague pointed out that this demographic does not merely view stories as passive experiences but instead expects to engage actively with entertainment. “They expect to interact with entertainment,” she remarked, noting that fans today engage by pausing to debate plot theories, researching backstories, and sharing clips with friends. Disney aims to adapt its offerings to meet these evolving expectations, ensuring that its products resonate with the viewing habits of modern audiences.
As Disney positions itself to leverage the growing mobile video market, its efforts to blend vertical video with advanced AI tools could set new standards for user engagement and content creation in the streaming industry. The company’s approach reflects broader trends toward interactivity and personalization, aiming to capture the attention of an increasingly tech-savvy audience.
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