Netflix is looking at vertical video as a way to experiment with new types of content, CTO Elizabeth Stone said Tuesday at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 conference. The executive noted that the company did not want to compete directly with apps like TikTok or other short-form drama apps, but acknowledged that there are more ways Netflix can take advantage of the mobile platform.
In response to a question about the competitive landscape on mobile, Stone agreed that there are times when consumers are looking for something Netflix has to offer, such as a TV show, movie or game, but there are also other times when they want “a little more of a snack.”
At these times, Netflix needs to be able to offer “a broader variety of content,” she said.
“We’re testing a vertical video feed on mobile that reimagines what mobile is, meeting consumers where they are and how they use mobile today.”
That feed, which was announced as a test earlier this year, will allow members to browse snippets of the original titles. The goal is to encourage Netflix users to be inspired to watch the series or movie.
However, the company may have bigger plans for how that feed could be used, Stone’s comments suggested.
The executive pointed to Moments, a video clip cutting feature in the Netflix app that allows users to cut and share their favorite scenes from a show or movie.
There is an option to drop those short clips into the vertical video feed, but Stone did not directly confirm this plan. Instead, she said more vaguely that the company would experiment with “different types of content” that could be in the vertical feed, as well as “different ways to cut and share content.”
“We’ve innovated on Moments, which enables a kind of social connection to some of the content by giving members the ability to create a clip and share it with their networks,” she said. adding that the position is a kind of short-term experience.
“But [Netflix” is not intending to copy or chase exactly what a TikTok or others are doing because we think that there’s a certain type of entertainment — or moment of truth — that’s especially valuable to our members, and we really want to be focused there, versus trying to be all things at every moment, which I don’t think needs to be a core part of the strategy,” Stone added.
Another experiment involves podcasts, thanks to Netflix’s recent deal with Spotify to distribute podcasts on its platform.
“We’ll use some of these new canvases we have, like vertical video, to start to experiment with new content types — and that includes something we announced more recently, which is podcasts,” Stone added, noting that some podcast content would be co-exclusive across Netflix and Spotify and would come to life on both mobile and TV.
The exec said users will see these experiments will be out in the next few quarters and throughout 2026.
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