Vertical Video and the CTV Viewing Experience
Vertical video is all the rage these days, from straight-to-vert microdrama to the AI-powered verticalization and clipping of legacy IP libraries, but how does vertical viewing really square with the three L’s of the traditional living-room CTV experience: landscape, longform, and lean-back? Roku VP UX Design and Research Margret Schmidt and Hub Entertainment Research Head of Content Strategy and Design Shannon McKenzie acknowledge that it’s to some degree an opportunity still in search of a definitive use case in the transition from mobile and social to CTV, with a lingering gap between preferred modes of creation and consumption, as they explain in this lively discussion with Chris Pfaff Tech Media Founder and CEO Chris Pfaff at Streaming Media Connect 2026.
‘What Are Users Really Ready For?’
Pfaff introduces the topic of microdramas by noting, “We’re literally, I think, a year to the day that MicroCo was announced—[from] big Hollywood ex-Quibi folks, Lloyd Braun and Susan Rovner. … We’ve seen so much energy around this [space].” Pfaff mentions that he moderated a February Streaming Media Connect panel on vertical drama. “Where does [it] fit into your product work for your audiences?” he asks, inviting Schmidt to answer first, but she asks him to clarify if he’s talking specifically about shorter-form narratives.
“It can be anything” in the vertical space, he replies, “because of course, one of the pieces of news that came out of Disney’s earnings was that after failing with Sora, now they’re throwing their content to TikTokers. I think the term PrincessTok has now been created.” Schmidt laughs, and Pfaff reiterates that so many people are talking about the vertical space and how they can be involved in it.
Schmidt agrees, “It’s always a topic of conversation. I think the question is, What are users really ready for, sitting on their couch with the biggest screen in the house?”
Pfaff builds on this point: “Do they really want to go home at 9:30 at night and …” He mimes clicking a remote.
“Right,” Schmidt replies. “That’s a very active kind of experience and often very personal. And the TV is often the shared thing in the household. So I think sure, you can do vertical. The question is, ‘What is that compelling experience that doesn’t require too much interaction and gives me a longer amount of content to watch, [and] reduces the time I have to make a decision about what to watch for the payoff I get?’” She notes that in the current on-demand world, the continuing popularity of live and FAST views is surprising. She believes people like that when doing that kind of viewing, they only have to make one decision—turning on the TV.
Pfaff adds that YouTube “figured that one out a long time ago,” with Schmidt reminding him that YouTube fills the full screen of a TV in the correct aspect ratio to “take advantage of the big space.”
Where Users Are Watching
Pfaff addresses McKenzie by noting that large streamers like Peacock have “an enormous amount of scale to deal with” when thinking about vertical, so where would verticalization and related topics fit into those kinds of companies’ strategies?
McKenzie says, “The obvious answer is just the need state or the use case. Where are you [viewing from]? It’s like you said, you watch sports at the restaurant sometimes underneath the table and you’re on your phone. You’d rather be in the biggest available screen in your house. So there’s that element. I think it also really speaks to the impact of the social connection that’s happening that we’re seeing a lot.”
The Viewing Habits of Different Age Groups
She notes that “a lot of the research that’s coming now out of Hub [shows that] when you look at the age range, if you look at the traditional broadcast cable 35-plus consumer,” and you ask what kinds of content they’re talking about, “that 35-plus [group], 40% of them are talking about traditional TV and live, but then only 21% of them are really talking about the creator content. When you look at that 18-to-24 category, that completely flips. Only 17% of them are talking about what’s on traditional TV, and a full 47% are now talking about what’s on creator content.”
McKenzie acknowledges that “you might argue, ‘Well, that’s all they have access to. They don’t pay the cable bill in the house.’ Or you might say, ‘Oh, they just don’t value production content.’ But I think what you’re actually seeing is what they value is the ability to be involved. And these devices, for better or for worse, are as much consumption as creation.” She points to reaction videos as a good example of how to bring the consumer into the story. “I think you’re going to see a lot more of that,” she predicts. “And that starts to evolve with the UX and the UI as well.”
Join us November 9–11, 2026 for more thought leadership, actionable insights, and lively debate at Streaming Media Connect 2026! Registration is open!
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