Disney wants greater involvement in the mobile video business: The entertainment giant plans to roll out a new vertical video product on Disney+ over the next year, featuring news and sports as well as short-form content from its entertainment portfolio.
The vertical video journey began after ESPN entered the space with “verts” in the ESPN app, essentially creating a new sports highlights experience.
The company announced the product enhancements Wednesday at an event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“We want to bring all of the best things that make our live products great, from ESPN to ABC News to Hulu Plus live TV, into this unified environment,” said Erin Teague, executive vice president of product management, on stage at the event, which was streamed online. “We're also thinking about a mobile-first experience. We know mobile is a great opportunity to turn Disney+ into a true everyday destination for fans, so that's exactly what we're trying to do.”
“Over the next year, we're introducing a vertical video experience with Disney+. Think all the short-form Disney content you want, all in one unified app,” she added. “We will evolve these experiences over time and update them in real time based on your last visit, exploring different formats, categories, and content types across our applications to provide you with a dynamic feed of just what interests you, including sports, news, and entertainment.”
In addition to promoting vertical video, company executives also mentioned technology and artificial intelligence during their presentation, including AI-powered ad planning tools, particularly AI video generation tools that allow advertisers to quickly develop and deploy CTV-ready ad spots.
“This is more than just an AI model creating a clip,” Disney executive VO Tony Donohoe said during a product demo. “The magic is the work we do internally, leveraging human oversight and imagination to build capabilities, while blending Disney's technical, creative and operational expertise to orchestrate multiple models that work together in a single agent workflow.
“There's a model that drives the script and creates the storyboard, and there's another model that drives the audio and music and generates the video. And it all takes into account your vision for mood, tone, style, any oversight over us, and takes into account guardrails and compliance requirements while protecting your intellectual property,” he continued. “But to really delight them, we make sure they get the right creative in front of the right audience at the right time.”
AI was a recurring theme in the presentation, which came just weeks after Disney struck a landmark deal to bring many of its characters and worlds to OpenAI's Sora, and will eventually bring some of its user-driven content to Disney+.
“For us, AI is an accelerator and an amplifier,” Teague said. “That's why collaboration with partners like OpenAI is absolutely critical. We want to power a new generation of fandom that is more interactive and immersive, while respecting human creativity and keeping users safe.”
In fact, Teague framed interactivity as a key part of reaching Generation Alpha.
“They are the first AI-native generation, and what's interesting is that they don't think of stories as things that happen to them. Instead, they expect more agency,” she said. “They expect to interact with entertainment. Fans don't just watch anymore. They react, research, and remix. Fathers and daughters aren't just streaming Marvel shows. They're pausing to discuss theories. They're looking up backstories on their phones and sharing clips with friends.”
And Disney wants to make sure its products meet that reality.
