Netflix is expanding its content strategy with a slate of licensing deals that will bring short-form videos from leading digital publishers to its platform, signalling a broader push to capture audiences spending increasing amounts of time with bite-sized content.
As per media reports, the streaming service will begin offering videos ranging from two to 20 minutes in length from publishers including BuzzFeed Studios, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., Tastemade, and Penske Media brands such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, IndieWire and Eater, beginning from August 3. The content will span categories including entertainment, food, travel, fashion, design and wellness.
Reports also suggest that unlike exclusive streaming arrangements, Netflix’s agreements allow publishers to continue distributing the same content on platforms such as YouTube while also making it available on Netflix. The company is licensing both existing videos and commissioning new original series from its publishing partners.
The move builds on Netflix’s recent efforts to diversify its platform beyond films and TV shows. Over the past year, the company has expanded into live programming, video games and video podcasts, while also introducing Clips, a TikTok-style vertical video feed designed to improve content discovery within the app.
The latest partnerships underscore Netflix’s strategy of increasing user engagement by offering content suited to shorter viewing sessions, while broadening the range of creators and publishers available on the platform as competition for viewer attention intensifies.
