Netflix Expands Into Short-Form Video With Publisher Content

Netflix is bringing publisher-produced short-form videos to its streaming service. The company is adding a new category of programming to its streaming service by licensing short-form videos from several major digital publishers.

According to the company’s announcement, starting August 3, subscribers in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand will be able to watch videos from publishers including BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., Tastemade, and Penske Media brands such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Eater, and IndieWire.

The lineup includes both existing and ongoing series covering celebrity interviews, food, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, travel, and home design. Episodes will range from three-minute quick hits to more than 20-minute episodes, and the company says additional publishers will be added over time.

The move expands the types of content available on Netflix beyond traditional films and television series, introducing programming that has typically been consumed on publisher websites, YouTube, and social media platforms.

Netflix Continues Expanding Beyond Scripted Entertainment 

The new publisher partnerships are the latest step in Netflix's broader effort to diversify the content available on its platform.

Over the past few years, Netflix has expanded beyond its traditional catalog of movies and television shows by introducing live programming, mobile games, and more recently, video podcasts. Last year, the company announced an exclusive video podcast partnership with iHeartMedia, bringing creator-led programming onto the platform.

It has also experimented with short-form viewing through features such as Clips, which lets users browse short scenes from Netflix titles before deciding whether to watch the full program.

The publisher partnerships serve a different purpose. Instead of promoting Netflix originals, the licensed videos are standalone programs covering topics that people already consume across digital media, including celebrity interviews, recipes, travel, entertainment news, fashion, and culture.

Netflix says the goal is to give members more ways to continue exploring the stories, personalities, and interests they enjoy after finishing a movie or television series.

"Members don't just want to watch a show or film and move on. They want to keep exploring the stories and personalities they love long after the final credits roll," said John Derderian, VP of Animation Series and Kids & Family TV at Netflix, who oversees the initiative.

Publisher Content Brings Web-native Onto Netflix 

The publisher lineup spans dozens of established digital brands. According to Netflix's announcement, participating publishers include BuzzFeed brands such as BuzzFeed Celeb, Tasty, Cocoa Butter, Pero Like, and A*Pop. Condé Nast will contribute programming from brands including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, Bon Appétit, Architectural Digest, GQ, Condé Nast Traveler, and Allure.

Hearst Magazines will add series from publications including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Road & Track, and Town & Country. Programming will also come from People Inc., Tastemade, and Penske Media brands including Billboard, Eater, IndieWire, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety.

Rather than adding another streaming series, Netflix is licensing content that already has an established audience online while continuing to produce new episodes for many of the participating brands.

Netflix is Responding to a Market Where Short-Form Video Dominates Attention

Netflix's latest expansion comes as short-form video continues to command a growing share of consumers' viewing time, forcing streaming companies to compete beyond traditional television and film.

By licensing publisher-produced videos that have traditionally lived on websites, YouTube, and social platforms, Netflix is moving into a category long dominated by platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Unlike its existing Clips feature, which promotes Netflix originals through short previews, these partnerships bring standalone web-native programming directly onto the streaming service. 

According to Nielsen's The Gauge, YouTube accounted for 12.7% of all U.S. television viewing in December 2025, marking its eighth consecutive month as the largest media distributor. Netflix reached a record 9.0% share during the same period, while streaming as a whole represented 47.5% of total TV viewing. The figures highlight that audiences are increasingly spending time across a wider mix of long-form streaming and creator-led video rather than relying on traditional television alone.

That shift has also influenced where advertising budgets are going. The IAB Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy report, projects U.S. digital video advertising spending will reach $81.9 billion in 2026, representing 61% of combined television and video advertising spending. 

The report also notes that social video accounted for more than half of programmatic video ad spending in 2025, reflecting advertisers' growing investment in video formats that originated on digital platforms.

Netflix's publisher partnerships bring those web-native formats onto its own platform. Instead of relying only on original series and films to keep subscribers engaged, the company is adding celebrity interviews, cooking shows, entertainment coverage, lifestyle programming, and other videos that audiences already watch on publisher websites and social platforms.

The announcement also follows a Bloomberg report published this week that said Netflix has struggled to maintain audiences between the first and second seasons of several original series. Bloomberg reported that second seasons of some titles lost between 30% and 70% of their first-season audience within four weeks of release, citing longer production gaps, cancellations, and inconsistent performance as contributing factors. 

Netflix has not linked the publisher partnerships to those findings, but the additional programming gives subscribers more content to watch between major releases.

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