Disney Plus just launched its new vertical video feed called Disney Plus Verts, and it’s now available on mobile. If you’ve used TikTok or Instagram Reels recently, you’ll find it pretty familiar.
Open the Disney Plus app on your phone. Tap the Verts icon in the navigation bar. Swipe up. Clips from movies and shows start playing vertical, full-screen, one after another. See something you like? Tap to add it to your Watchlist or jump straight into the full episode.
What Exactly Is Disney Plus Verts?
Disney Plus Verts is Disney’s solution to a challenge many streaming services face: viewers are spending less time scrolling through traditional grids like Netflix and more time on quick, engaging TikTok-style feeds.. The grid requires you to know what you want. The feed shows you things you didn’t know you wanted.
Disney Plus launched Verts this week for U.S. subscribers on mobile, positioning it as a content discovery tool powered by a personalized recommendation algorithm. Right now, it only plays clips and scenes from existing Disney Plus titles not original short-form content. That comes later.
Live now on iPhone and Android for U.S. subscribers. Desktop and TV? Not available. International markets? Disney hasn’t shared any timeline for rollout outside the U.S.
Disney Tested Verts on ESPN First Here’s What They Found
This change wasn’t a surprise. ESPN added a Verts tab to its app in August 2025, which offers a new swipeable video experience that is customized and simple to use with an improved recommendation algorithm.
That was the testing ground. Sports fans got to use it first. Disney watched what happened. Bob Iger made a point of saying that the algorithm seems to be working, pointing out that when people give a thumbs up to videos, the feed quickly starts to show more of what they actually want to see their favorite sports.
Disney says Disney Plus Verts drove “additional engagement” on both ESPN and in early Disney Plus experiments. They haven’t said by how much. No percentages, no retention data, no session length numbers. For a company presenting this to advertisers at CES 2026, that vagueness stands out.
How the Disney Plus Verts Algorithm Works
The Disney Plus Verts experience is powered by a new, faster personalization algorithm with Verts carousels also appearing inside the main app feed.
In practice: the more you interact, watch, like, skip the faster it learns what you actually want. Watch something for three seconds and leave? The algorithm notes that. Watch it to the end and tap play? It notes that too. Same core loop that made TikTok addictive.
The difference is the content. Disney Plus Verts isn’t user-generated. Every clip comes from Disney’s catalog Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu originals. That’s both a strength and a limitation. You’re discovering content you can actually watch on the same platform. But there are no outside creators. No surprises from outside the walled garden.
Every Major Streamer Has a Vertical Feed Now. Here’s Where They Stand.
Disney Plus Verts isn’t the first vertical feed in streaming. Not even close.
Netflix announced testing of a short-form vertical video feature in May 2025 clips from original titles, with buttons to watch the full show, save, or share. Netflix’s full mobile redesign with deeper vertical video integration is planned for later in 2026.
Peacock’s vertical video experiments have already shown measurable gains in overall engagement. Fox One launched with a vertical feed when it debuted last August. Fox went further in October it invested in Holywater, the company behind microdrama platform My Drama.
The whole industry is moving the same direction. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels have conditioned hundreds of millions of people to discover content by swiping, not searching. Streamers have no real choice but to follow.
What’s Coming Next for Disney Plus Verts
Disney is referring to its latest updates as “phase one.” Erin Teague, who is the EVP of Product Management at Disney Entertainment, mentioned that they plan to broaden the offerings on Disney Plus Verts. This means not just movie and series clips, but also original short videos, although we don’t have details yet on what those will be.
There’s also a focus on advertising, as Disney is looking to add more ad space in the ad-supported version of Disney Plus, targeting brands that want short video placements beyond social media. They’re working on personalized feeds, creator content, and new vertical formats, but a timeline for these changes is still uncertain.
Should You Try Disney Plus Verts?
If you’re a U.S. Disney Plus subscriber on mobile, yes give it five minutes. Open the app, find the Verts tab, swipe through a few clips. The experience is smooth. The catalog is deep enough that you’ll likely land on something you forgot you wanted to watch.
The bigger picture: Disney Plus Verts is a bet that streaming’s next engagement battle isn’t on your TV. It’s on your phone, in whatever spare minutes you have during the day. Disney is staking its claim now, before Netflix’s full mobile redesign drops later this year.
Whether clips from The Mandalorian and Inside Out can hold attention the way TikTok does, that’s still an open question. Disney doesn’t know yet. Neither does anyone else.
Disney Plus Verts is currently available to U.S. subscribers on iOS and Android. No international launch date has been announced.
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