Short-Form Video Surges Beyond Social, Study Finds

Pity Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul whose Quibi, a mobile-first video service, was way ahead of its time. The idea was to serve short-form video less than 10 minutes in duration to people as they were waiting at the bank, the post office, the doctor’s office or anywhere else where they might have a few minutes of down time. Quibi shut down in 2020 almost as quickly as it launched, in large part because Covid lockdowns had social viewers glued to their TV sets for any news and updates about the pandemic.

Now comes research from Media.net, a global sell-side platform (SSP) that serves publishers and advertisers. The company surveyed 1,000 adult consumers and found more people are engaging with short-form video than ever before.

Karan Dalal, COO, Media.net, talked to StreetFight about the findings and their implications for ad-marketing and media. But before we continue, there’s really no need to pity Katzenberg. He’s plenty rich and thriving.

Your study found that 90% of consumers want short-form video beyond social media. How should local publishers respond?

The message from consumers is unmistakable. Short-form video is no longer a social-only experience. Audiences want it wherever they consume news, not just on TikTok or Reels. In our survey, 90% of U.S. consumers said they’re open to seeing short-form video on publisher sites, and 73% watch multiple times per day, mainly on mobile.

For local publishers, this means adapting familiar reporting [such as] daily updates, quick explainers, community news, product reviews—into a format that’s fast, visual, and easy to consume. Embedding short vertical clips on high-traffic article pages or product review pages is a simple starting point. The editorial voice stays the same. The format simply meets consumers where their habits already are.

How does bringing short-form video to publisher sites reshape the balance of power between open web publishers and walled gardens?

Today, most short-form video behavior happens inside walled gardens, where publishers give up control over context, data, and monetization. Bringing vertical video onsite helps shift that balance. Vertical video on publisher pages delivers the format people expect—swipeable, vertical, under one minute—but in an environment the publisher owns. And because vertical clips deliver roughly 2.5x higher engagement than horizontal video, publishers can compete more directly for attention and ad dollars that have historically gone to social platforms. That attention translates into stronger monetization and more predictable outcomes than social feeds allow.

This gives publishers the ability not only to keep audiences onsite but also to build their own high-value video inventory.

With consumers saying they’d stay longer on sites featuring short-form video, what does this mean for engagement and retention?

Short-form video is proving to be a strong engagement tool. 75% of consumers said they would stay longer on a site featuring videos tailored to their interests, and early Bytes deployments show at least a 100-second lift in session time when users enter the video experience.

For local publishers, this means readers move from single-article visits to deeper, more habitual engagement. A user may tap into a 40-second recap, swipe to a related clip, then click into a full article. Over time, that behavior strengthens loyalty and offsets volatility from search or social referrals.

How can regional or community publishers leverage vertical video with smaller budgets?

The biggest challenge for regional publishers is production resources and Bytes helps remove that barrier. Bytes uses AI to identify trending or evergreen articles; generate short vertical video summaries of those stories; format them in a mobile-first presentation and route all videos to an editorial dashboard for review.

This allows even small newsrooms to build a vertical video offering using the journalism they already produce—without new production teams or major budget increases.

Our study reinforces why this matters: 45% of consumers want quick news recaps in vertical form, and 75% say tailored short-form video would make them stay longer.

Bytes allows local publishers to deliver exactly that in a cost-efficient way.

How can advertisers turn these interactions into real outcomes, especially locally?

Short-form video ads perform well, but the advantage on publisher sites is that the path to action is clearer. 68% of people say they engage with ads in short-form video, and on publisher sites, those interactions happen where users are often researching, comparing services, or reviewing local businesses.

For local advertisers, this often leads to clicks to booking or reservation pages; calls or form submissions; traffic to local businesses; and higher-quality leads driven by contextual relevance

That combination of intent and transparency is especially powerful for local advertisers who need proof of performance. Because the environment is fully measurable, publishers can link video engagement to downstream actions—providing clear proof of performance for local businesses.

How does short-form video complement display, search, or native formats?

Short-form video enhances the value of display as higher time on site improves viewability and yields 3–5x higher CPMs in vertical video environments. When readers land from a search query, a short video recap helps them orient quickly and reduces bounce rates. With native content, a vertical clip can act as a teaser for longer sponsored stories or guides.

Rather than replacing legacy formats, it strengthens them by increasing attention and session depth. 

How might vertical video redefine local storytelling?

Short-form video is becoming a new entry point for news consumption. Many readers, especially younger ones, start with a swipeable feed before navigating to full stories.

TIME’s COO Mark Howard said publishers must “rise to the experience that consumers expect,” and today that expectation is shaped by TikTok-style behavior. Bringing that feed-like experience onsite allows local publishers to offer a fast, mobile-first snapshot of the day’s news—schools, weather, local government, community events—before guiding readers deeper.