Netflix dabbles in shorter video content with its new set of publisher deals with Variety, others

Netflix is again experimenting with new types of content on its streaming service, as the binge model has grown dated. After expanding its service to include live content, video games, and, more recently, video podcasts, the streamer is now adding video content from publishers such as BuzzFeed Studios, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., Tastemade, and various Penske Media PMX brands, like Variety, THR, Billboard, Eater, Rolling Stone, and Indiewire.

Starting August 3, Netflix will offer video content from these publishers to subscribers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, according to Netflix and other reports released on Tuesday by Netflix’s deal partners like Variety, Billboard, THR, Rolling Stone, and others.

The new videos will vary widely in length — some run just 2 to 3 minutes, while others stretch past 20, the partners said.

For Netflix, the deal is a low-risk way to test whether its audience has an appetite for the kind of content that’s typically native to the web, such as news, lifestyle, how-tos, and other short-form formats that tend to be cheaper and faster to produce than a scripted series. If it works, Netflix could eventually build similar content in-house, though the company hasn’t said that’s the plan.

The line-up will include both licensed archival and ongoing series coming to Netflix, including BuzzFeed Celeb’s 30 Questions, Tasty Recipes, Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector, AD’s Walking Tour, Elle’s Where is the Lie, Harper’s Bazaar’s Burning Questions, Billboard’s 24 Hrs With, Variety’s How Well Do They Know?, PEOPLE’s My Life in Pictures, Travel + Leisure’s Travel Unfiltered, Tastemade’s Struggle Meals, and more.

Netflix says other publishers will be added over time.

The announcement follows a Bloomberg report this week which found that Netflix is struggling to retain fans between the first and second seasons of top shows. That trend has reportedly worried executives, though it’s largely explained by familiar culprits: high cancellation rates, long gaps between seasons, and inconsistent quality. The report suggests that Netflix is also facing a shift in consumer viewing habits, which sees the streamer now competing with YouTube and TikTok — arguably as much as it competes with traditional TV networks now.

To court viewers drawn to short-form video, Netflix already added a TikTok-style feature called “Clips” that lets users scroll through short snippets from its library. But where Clips is designed to funnel viewers toward longer shows and movies, these new publisher deals go the other direction, bringing short-form content onto the platform in its own right.

“Members don’t just want to watch a show or film and move on – they want to keep exploring the stories and personalities they love long after the final credits roll. These partnerships help us deepen fandom and create more ways for members to carry those stories with them throughout their day,” stated John Derderian, Netflix VP of Animation Series + Kids & Family TV, who is overseeing this project.