On April 17, Netflix announced it is launching a TikTok-style vertical video feed on mobile before the end of April 2026. The feed surfaces short clips from shows, movies, and video podcasts. Users scroll to discover content and tap a clip to jump straight to the full title.
One more major platform goes vertical. At this point, the format shift is complete.
Every Major Platform Is Now Vertical-First
TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts built their audiences on 9:16. Netflix is now joining them. For creators, that means vertical-native content is no longer optional for social reach — and it is increasingly necessary for streaming discovery too.
The data supports the shift. Vertical videos deliver completion rates up to 90% higher than horizontal on mobile. Around 85% of marketers say short-form is their most effective format. And in 2026, the most successful creators publish to three to five platforms simultaneously, treating content production as a repeatable pipeline rather than a one-off effort.
That pipeline problem is where most teams hit a wall.
The Real Challenge: Volume and Format
A single interview, podcast episode, or product demo can feed weeks of content across platforms — but only if you can efficiently slice, reformat, and adapt it. Doing that manually for TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and now a Netflix vertical feed means duplicating work across every platform with different spec requirements.
This is where AI video creation becomes genuinely useful. Rather than re-editing each asset by hand, AI workflows let you extract highlights, reformat horizontal footage, add captions, and tune pacing at scale — from a single source file.
Practical Workflows for Vertical AI Video
Tellers is built around this kind of workflow. The agent understands your content, identifies the most relevant segments, and can generate or adapt video for vertical formats — through a conversational interface or the Tellers API for teams that want to automate the whole thing.
A few concrete examples:
- Podcast to vertical clips: Upload a full episode and ask the agent to identify the strongest 60-second moments, crop to 9:16, add captions, and export one clip per highlight.
- Long-form to Reels and Shorts: Have the agent cut a product walkthrough into platform-specific vertical segments with pacing adapted for each.
- AI-generated vertical video: Use Runway Gen 4.5 or LTX video generation — both available on Tellers — to generate short, vertical-native clips directly from a text or image prompt, with camera motion controls to direct how the shot moves.
For teams running high-volume content operations, the Tellers API means you can ingest a new video, run the pipeline, and receive vertical-ready assets without manual steps in between.
The Signal Inside the Netflix Announcement
The Netflix news also mentioned their acquisition of InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking company, specifically to accelerate generative AI tools for creators. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos described AI as giving “artists better tools to bring those visions to life.”
Major studios building or buying AI production capabilities signals where the market is heading. AI video tools are becoming standard infrastructure for anyone producing at volume — not just for indie creators, but for professional production pipelines too. The gap between teams with AI-assisted workflows and those without is widening with every platform update like this one.
Getting Started with Vertical Video
If you are not already creating vertical content systematically, Netflix going vertical is a useful forcing function. Start with the long-form content you already have — podcasts, interviews, webinars, demos — and build a workflow that converts it into a consistent stream of vertical clips.
Try it on Tellers. Bring your first piece of content and ask the agent to cut it into vertical clips. It takes less than a minute to see what’s possible.
FAQ
Does Tellers support vertical video output? Yes. Tellers supports 9:16 vertical formats for both AI-generated video and edited footage. You can export directly in the aspect ratio required by TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and now Netflix’s vertical feed.
What video generation models are available on Tellers? Tellers currently includes Runway Gen 4.5 and LTX video generation, with camera motion controls and first/last frame control for precise creative direction.
Can I automate vertical video creation with the Tellers API? Yes. The Tellers API exposes the full pipeline — upload, clip extraction, AI video generation, export — so teams can automate the entire workflow programmatically.
When is Netflix launching its vertical video feed? Netflix announced the feature on April 17, 2026, and plans to launch it before the end of April 2026.