Disney+ Streaming Service Adds New Features Like Vertical Video, AI Personalization, & More

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Tue, August 18, 2026 at 9:06 PM UTC

Disney+ Streaming Service Adds New Features Like Vertical Video, AI Personalization, & More — Photo Credit: Disney Plus

Disney+, one of the leading streamers, is transforming its platform to make it more interactive for global users. The company is upgrading its streaming service with short-form video clips and more personalized feeds.

According to Disney , executives from Disney+ and ESPN shared these major digital upgrades atD23: The Ultimate Fan Event. One of the biggest additions is TikTok-style short-form clips called Verts. Through this new feature, mobile users can interact with vertical videos, short clips, and microcontent designed for quick discovery.

Disney+ confirmed that nearly 40% of its mobile users have already interacted with Verts since its March launch. The new short-form video feature is already seeing strong engagement across the streaming ecosystem. On the ESPN App, it has attracted more than 24 million users and generated over 1.5 billion minutes of viewing time since August 2025.

What other new features are coming to Disney+?

Given the success of Verts, Disney is now exploring ways to make it more than a content discovery tool. The company wants to create fan engagement activities via creator communities, original storytelling, microcontent, podcasts, and more.

"There will never be a replacement for that long-form original content, but what is interesting is the way that it is now being supplemented by the shorter-form analysis, the clips," said Erin Teague, EVP of Product, Disney Entertainment & ESPN.

Apart from Verts, Disney is focusing on local stories. The company plans to roughly triple the number of local original series on Disney+ over the next three years. The strategy will focus on stories created by local filmmakers and supported by regional partnerships. They also expect some of these productions to reach viewers outside their original markets.

Sports coverage is also getting a major boost through AI-powered personalization and interactive features like SportsCenter For You, StreamCenter, and Multiview. These new features will offer fans more control over how they follow their favorite sports. Disney also plans to bring more ESPN content and live sports to the service, including select college football games and College GameDay simulcasts in the U.S.

These latest upgrades make Disney+ a comprehensive hub for sports, global originals, and vertical video content.

Originally reported by Manoj Chekkilla on ComingSoon .

The post Disney+ Streaming Service Adds New Features Like Vertical Video, AI Personalization, & More appeared first on Mandatory .

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What other new features are coming to Disney+?

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