How vertical video is changing the way broadcasters engage with audiences

Browse leading broadcasters' websites, apps, and social media channels, and you will notice that many are now publishing vertical videos. 

Take US broadcaster CNN, who, in late 2023, launched Shorts with TikTok-style news summaries. Or FOX Sports, which began publishing vertical highlights of the Copa America and Euros soccer tournaments in the summer of 2024. Around the same time, the BBC started doing something similar in the UK. France’s BFMTV, meanwhile, began publishing live vertical videos as early as 2020. 

Many major news and sports broadcasters are now publishing vertical videos worldwide. A 2022 Reuters survey found over half of leading broadcasters in more than 40 countries were producing vertical content for TikTok. And this trend has only continued on its upward curve since then.

Whether you’ve already experimented with vertical video or are just beginning your journey, planning for this shift is essential. In this article, you will learn about:

• The trends that are driving the shift to vertical video
• Benefits and challenges of producing vertical video
• Where to begin with producing content in this format
  
  

Vertical video has been normalized

So, why are broadcasters investing time and money into producing vertical content? Several factors are driving this trend:

• Social media: There are no surprises here—the enormous popularity of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and the like has normalized the experience of consuming vertical content. Billions worldwide now watch content filmed in or adapted for portrait mode daily. 

• Staying relevant: To continue attracting younger audiences, broadcasters produce content that appeals to them and is delivered to the devices they consume it on. Whether they are publishing to social media channels or their apps and websites, broadcasters know they need to provide content in the ways younger viewers have come to expect.

• User experience: Although most traditional videos are filmed in a horizontal aspect ratio, this does not match the shape of modern smartphones. While users can flip their phones to watch videos in a 16:9 ratio, most don’t. For instance, a Scientific American article reports that 72% of Millennials don’t turn their phones to watch horizontal video - it’s simply inconvenient. 

• Commercial factors: Various studies have found that people are more likely to watch video ads in a vertical format the whole way through; they're more likely to understand the ads and engage with ad content fully. Vertical video also allows you to maximize the screen’s ‘real estate’ when the device is held in an upright position (whereas the top and bottom thirds of an ‘upright’ smartphone screen would be blank when watching horizontal video). 
• Experimentation and innovation: Vertical video allows broadcasters to experiment with new kinds of content. ‘Shorts’ are one obvious format, but they’re also excellent for vox pops, explainers, reels, highlights, live ‘on-the-ground’ coverage and other new kinds of immersive storytelling

Given these trends, it’s no surprise that broadcasters are increasingly investing in vertical content. 

Learn more: Delight your viewers with verticalized live sports for mobile

Opportunities and challenges with vertical video

For many years, media teams routinely dismissed vertical video as low quality and unprofessional. But, as Zena Barakat, a journalism scholar at Stanford University, recently told a podcast: 

"When we dismiss it as an amateurish way to shoot, I think we're missing an opportunity to tell stories in a whole new way, with a whole new artistic visual language.” 

So, what are the benefits and challenges of this new approach to producing content? 

Opportunities with vertical video

Producing and distributing vertical video has numerous advantages:

• It simply recognizes reality - this is how many people watch video today
• Offers a better user experience on smartphones and tablets
• Allows you to innovate with new methods of storytelling
• Boosts engagement on social and O&O platforms
• May offer new ad revenue or subscription opportunities
• Maximize ROI - get content out to more audiences in more places

Challenges of vertical video

Despite its advantages, shifting to vertical video production introduces a number of challenges:

• Technical issues: Converting video filmed in a 16:9 format to a 9:16 format presents technical and editorial challenges. The original stream needs to be cut and edited so the main focus (a talking head, for instance) is centered, with backgrounds cut out. This can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. 
• Editorial decisions: Which part of a live stream should you focus on when converting 16:9 video to 9:16? What gets included, and what gets excluded? Does the vertical shot transmit the full context of the story you’re trying to tell (activity on a sports field, a political debate, a weather report, or a news story)? 
• Resources: Producing vertical video requires additional resources. Whether you’re converting landscape video to portrait in the production suite or filming in vertical format out on the streets, you may need to invest in people and equipment. 
• Filming challenges: Reporters, production assistants, and camera crews will need to adopt unfamiliar new techniques for filming in vertical formats (deciding on the right angle to position people in interviews, knowing how close or far to stand from a subject, etc.). Some organizations have begun doing this. For example, Germany’s Bundesliga soccer tournament now films matches in both vertical and horizontal formats—although this will incur significant production costs. 

Vertical video in action

“We can finally resolve the challenge that has puzzled news broadcasters for years; despite smartphones becoming the primary channels for news consumption, news broadcasters continue to produce horizontal, linear format TV content” - Steven Cheak, creative services and digital director at Asharq News.

In 2021, Saudi broadcaster Asharq News was looking to engage younger audiences who primarily consumed content on their smartphones in a vertical position. The publisher was looking for a way to convert traditional 16:9 live streams to a portrait, mobile-friendly format without having to invest in a whole new production team. Learn how they did it using Wildmoka’s Auto ReZone.  

How to plan your journey to vertical video

Numerous leading broadcasters worldwide are now producing large volumes of mobile-first, vertical video. To ensure your organization can compete, it’s vital to plan your journey to vertical video. 

Wildmoka has helped multiple global news, sports, and entertainment broadcasters begin producing vertical content. Every project is unique, but here are some of the best practices for planning—and succeeding in—your vertical video journey.

Create a vision

This doesn’t have to be ‘set in stone,’ but having a shared vision of what your vertical video output will ‘look like’ gives your production teams a focus. For example, a 24/7 news channel might have a ‘vision’ for all content to be as accessible on mobile as on TV. Whatever the goal, having a shared ambition helps people understand why things are changing and where you’re going. 

Identify your primary vertical video platform

Many broadcasters start by producing vertical videos on social media platforms. TikTok and Instagram are great for sports, entertainment, and soft news. X/Twitter is often preferred for hard news. YouTube Shorts can be a good option for longer-form content. 

But your O&O app and website may also be a good option - especially when experimenting or for subscription content. 

Identify suitable vertical video content

Similarly, you’ll want to decide which kinds of content you wish to verticalize. News broadcasts and ‘magazine’ shows are a popular place to start. They typically include sections with interviews, talking heads, vox pops, and so on - all ideal for sharing on social media. Sports content is perennially popular, too, with highlights and reels always attracting attention. 

Start small

Dedicate a small team to editing and publishing content to your chosen platforms. To begin with, you may want to focus on producing clips. Then, as you gather more experience and start to see what works, you can expand output - including for live content.

Automate and accelerate

Converting traditional 16:9 broadcast streams to a mobile-friendly format is challenging and time-consuming. However, automation tools like Wildmoka’s Clip Studio can accelerate this process. 

Wildmoka’s Auto ReZone technology uses artificial intelligence algorithms to identify where in the shot action is taking place. It then automatically reformats the stream to fit a vertical format. Preloaded templates also divide the stream intelligently, allowing viewers to see multiple shots on their device’s screen at once. 

Vertical video: an exciting opportunity for broadcasters

The boom in social media, the worldwide adoption of smartphones, and massive changes in media consumption habits all mean that vertical video is here to stay.

Until recently, any broadcaster that wanted to produce vertical video would either need to film directly in portrait mode or spend significant time editing landscape streams into a portrait format. 

However, with new AI-powered solutions like Wildmoka’s AutoRezone, vertical video can now be created almost instantly—even for live streams. 

As a pioneer in AI-powered vertical video, Wildmoka has helped dozens of leading broadcasters around the world deliver news, sport, entertainment, and many other kinds of content in vertical formats that audiences now expect. 

Want to see how it works? Contact us today for a demo.