Disney+ will add vertical videos to its service in the US sometime this year, in hopes that they can entice viewers to engage with its app every day. The company has made the announcement at its Tech + Data Showcase event at CES 2026. Disney first dabbled in vertical content with Verts, which launched for the ESPN app in August 2025, giving it the insight it needed on how its users respond to the video format.
Erin Teague, Disney Entertainment’s EVP of Product Management, told Deadline that the company will use the format for all kinds of content. The service isn’t just planning to use it as a vehicle for movie and series teasers, but also for original short-form programming. She didn’t say what kinds of original programming Disney+ will be adding as vertical videos to its app, but vertical micro-dramas have become incredibly popular over the past year.
“We’re obviously thinking about integrating vertical video in ways that are native to core user behaviors,” Teague said. “So, it won’t be a kind of a disjointed, random experience.” The company is targeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha users, in particular, since they’re not inclined to sit and watch long-form content on their phones for hours. Disney said in a statement that the experience will “evolve as it expands across news and entertainment” and will be personalized for users, with making the service “a must-visit daily destination” as its goal. After all, if a user is already in the app, they’re more likely to explore and watch the service’s programming.
Google and Disney have finally reached an agreement, a couple of weeks after YouTube TV lost access to Disney channels that include ESPN, FX and ABC stations. In a statement, Google said the deal “preserves the value of [its] service for [its] subscribers and future flexibility in [its] offers.” Subscribers will be able to start watching Disney channels as they return over the course of the day, as well as access any content in their library. “We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf,” YouTube wrote.
The new deal “recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice,” Disney Entertainment co-chairpersons Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, as well as ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football,” they added.
Disney pulled its channels from YouTube’s subscription service on October 31 after the companies failed to reach a deal for the renewal of their partnership. Google said at the time that Disney “used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on [its] customers.” Meanwhile, Disney accused Google of “refusing to pay fair rates for [its] channels” and using its dominance in the market to “eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms” that its other partners had agreed to.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube TV subscribers will get access to select live and library programming from ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost under the terms of the new agreement. Google will also be able to offer Disney+ and Hulu bundles to YouTube TV customers and will be able to offer genre-based channel packages. Google has sent out emails to YouTube TV subscribers, notifying them about the return of Disney channels. It also clarified that they will still be able to claim the $20 credit, which the company gave out to make up for the missing channels, until December 9.
Disney (DIS) reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday that beat expectations as the company increased its annual cost-cutting goal to $7.5 billion, up from the previous $5.5 billion set in February. That includes a $4.5 billion annualized cut to content spending, up from the prior $3 billion.
The company’s streaming figures came in much strong than expected with nearly 7 million core Disney+ net additions, compared to consensus calls of 2.68 million.
Streaming losses narrowed to $387 million from a loss of $1.41 billion in the prior year period after the company raised streaming prices for the second time this year, upping the monthly price of its ad-free Disney+ and Hulu plans by more than 20%.
Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected direct-to-consumer losses to mount to $454 million in the quarter. The company previously reported a loss of $512 million in Q3, a $659 million loss in Q2, and a $1.1 billion loss in Q1.
On the earnings call, the company said it expects free cash flow to balloon to $8 billion in full-year 2024, assisted by lower content spend. Disney expects to spend $25 billion on content next year versus the $27 billion spent in full-year 2023.
It will also recommend a dividend by the end of the calendar year. Shares climbed almost 4% in pre-market trading following the results and were up roughly 7% on Thursday as investors digested the report.
“We continue to expect that our combined streaming businesses will reach profitability in Q4 of FY24, although progress may not look linear from quarter to quarter,” the company said in the release.
Adjusted earnings of $0.82 a share beat expectations of $0.69 per share and was more than double the prior-year period’s earnings per share of $0.30. Revenue, meanwhile, slightly missed estimates of $21.43 billion to hit $21.24 billion, up 5% compared to the prior-year quarter’s $20.15 billion.
Wednesday’s results mark the first time the media giant delivered earnings under its new reporting structure after CEO Bob Iger reorganized the company into three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, which includes its entire media and streaming portfolio; Experiences, which encompasses the parks business; and Sports, which included ESPN networks and ESPN+.
Here’s how those individual segments performed in the quarter versus Wall Street consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
Entertainment revenue: $9.52 billion versus $9.77 billion expected
Sports revenue: $3.91 billion versus $3.89 billion expected
Disney’s stock has struggled, down about 3% since the start of the year and down 5% since Iger’s return. Shares hit a nine-year low last month, and activist investor Nelson Peltz launched yet another attack on the media giant.
In an interview with CNBC following the earnings release, CEO Bob Iger said he’s had a call with Peltz but doesn’t have specifics on what the activist investor ultimately wants.
The executive did address the stock price, however, saying, “We don’t manage the stock price for short-term gains or on a short-term basis. We have a long-term view and this past year has been spent fixing things that needed to be addressed. … The long-term picture for Disney shareholders is quite bright.”
Iger said an integrated Hulu and Disney+ app will launch in March 2024 and that ESPN will transition to streaming “no later than 2025.”
CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger arrives for the screening of the film “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 18, 2023. (LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images) (LOIC VENANCE via Getty Images)
The company is currently seeking strategic partners, either through a joint venture or part ownership, to enable ESPN to launch a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) service.
ESPN generated operating income of $953 million in the quarter, up 15% compared to the prior year — largely driven by its domestic business.
The company credited higher domestic ESPN operating results to a few key factors. First, Disney saw a decrease in programming and production costs. Additionally, price increases and subscriber gains boosted ESPN+ subscription revenue. There was also an uptick in advertising revenue, while affiliate revenue decreased amid the Charter dispute in September.
Standalone linear network revenue continued to struggle, declining 9% in the quarter with domestic operating income falling 5% amid an especially weak advertising market, echoing the results of competitors. Disney said the Hollywood strikes were also to blame.
ESPN is less than 60% of total linear networks revenue, or roughly 30% of operating income.
Disney’s Experiences division, which includes its parks, cruise lines, and consumer products, saw revenue leap 13% year over year in the quarter to hit $8.16 billion. Operating income came in at $1.76 billion, below estimates of $1.87 billion but 30% above Q4 2022’s $1.34 billion total.
The company said lower results at its domestic parks and resorts stemmed from a decrease at Walt Disney World Resort due to inflation and lower guest spending.
Disney plans to invest $60 billion into its theme parks business over the next 10 years. Most of its full-year 2024 domestic parks growth will be in the second half of the year, the company said.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
