Join us on July 30 in NYC for a breakfast & panel
YouTube is jumping on the vertical video bandwagon.
Yesterday, the platform released updates for iOS and Android devices that plays vertical videos full screen — which is how Snapchat messages appear. Vertical videos were previously shrunk and bordered with two black bars creating a less than desirable viewing experience. (A before and after can be seen below.)
YouTube’s endorsement of vertical videos is a big deal. Despite some pleas from the Internet, people will instinctively shoot video vertically instead of awkwardly flipping their phone horizontally. The vertical video revolution is being pioneered by Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel who is emphasizing the format claiming that people are nine times more inclined to engage with vertical videos than horizontal videos.
Still, not everyone is on board the S.S. Vertical Video ship. An unnamed agency creative told Digiday last month they “hated” the format because it’s unnatural. “There’s no art to it. It’s haphazard,” they complained.
The refreshed apps are the cornerstone of YouTube’s strategy of focusing on mobile. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said at VidCon Thursday that “more than half” of views are originating on mobile devices and mobile revenue increased 100 percent year over year. YouTube said its early testing of 360-degree video ads, like this one Coca-Cola Mexico, have been outperforming regular ads by 36 percent, so expect more of those too.
More in Media
Publisher ad supply fell by up to 40% in Q2 as AI search choked the open web
Publisher ad supply fell by up to 40% in Q2 of 2026 as AI‑era, zero‑click search choked the flow of traffic to news and other open‑web sites, per U.S. and U.K. benchmarking data from Ozone, shared exclusively with Digiday.
Inside the newsroom push to turn print reporters into video talent
As reporter-led video becomes a priority, publishers are investing in newsroom training to help journalists deepen audience relationships.
WTF is SPUR’s publisher-run Content Telemetry Framework?
SPUR is publisher‑run and fixated on one thing: turning AI’s use of their content from opaque scraping into a transparent, usage‑based licensing system they control.