Netflix also announced that its co-founder Reed Hastings will be leaving the company in June.
Following social networks, streaming platforms are rapidly adopting the scrollable short-form video format. After Disney+ and Peacock, Netflix has announced it will launch a vertical video feed by the end of this month, alongside a major UI overhaul for its mobile app.
As with Disney+ and Peacock, Netflix’s vertical clips will be aimed at improving content discovery.
“We are launching an updated mobile experience at the end of the month that includes a vertical video discovery feed. This redesign will better reflect our expanding entertainment offering and make it easier for members to engage how and when they want,” the company said in a letter to shareholders this week.
The feed will be packed into a new mobile interface that the streamer has been testing internally. Netflix didn’t share much about its new mobile experience, but it follows a major redesign overhaul of its TV app last May.
Apart from the design changes, some of the letter’s other key takeaways included mention of generative AI tools. Netflix said it has been “using GenAI to improve recommendations for members through deeper content understanding so we can recommend the right title at the right moment.”
Additionally, the company said its co-founder, Reed Hastings, will step down from the board once his current term expires in June. Hastings, who was a key part of the company’s transition from a DVD-by-mail service to a streaming giant, will shift his focus toward philanthropy and other areas. The other co-founder, Marc Randolph, left the company close to a year after it went public in 2002.
This was the company’s first earnings report after its unsuccessful attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The steamer also raised its subscription prices last month, taking the ad-supported plan from $7.99 to $8.99 per month, and the Standard with no ads plan from $17.99 to $19.99 per month.
