ABC News is adding a vertical video feed to its mobile app as parent company Disney expands a short-form format that has already generated significant engagement across ESPN and Disney Plus.
Verts is available beginning Wednesday through a new icon within the ABC News app, offering breaking news, continuing coverage and analysis of major stories in a swipe-able vertical video format.
Content within the feed will be sourced from ABC News programming across linear television, streaming and digital platforms. Disney’s eight ABC-owned local TV stations will also contribute content, and ABC News anchors, correspondents, analysts and contributors will produce original videos specifically for Verts in the coming weeks and months.
Disney first introduced Verts within the ESPN app last year, affirming a plan to roll out the product to more apps over time The company said more than 26 million users have interacted with Verts on mobile devices, generating more than 1.8 billion minutes of viewing within the ESPN app.
Verts now accounts for 65 percent of user-initiated short-form video starts on ESPN, surpassing the app’s legacy video player, according to Disney. The company said approximately 43 percent of Disney Plus users on mobile devices have interacted with Verts as well.
Those results offer Disney an early indication that the vertical video format popularized by social platforms can generate engagement within its own applications, where the company maintains greater control over distribution and the user experience.
At ABC News, the initial rollout of Verts within the ABC News app will be focused on providing shorter versions of its journalism while directing viewers toward more extensive reporting available across its TV, streaming and digital platforms.
The company plans to expand Verts to the ABC News website when accessed via mobile devices, though a specific launch date wasn’t announced. Future versions of the product will incorporate additional content from its correspondents, new video formats and other content types. Disney’s product team is also working on greater personalization intended to customize the Verts experience for individual users.
