📱 HBO Max Wants You to Scroll Before You Stream
Vertical video becomes HBO Max latest discovery tool | Streaming in Short - W31
⏱️ This week’s streaming news in MENA and around the world, in 5 min.
📱 VERTICAL: HBO Max has launched HBO Max Shorts, a new vertical video feed that uses AI to turn scenes from its existing library into personalized, scrollable clips designed to help users discover movies and series. More in The Lab’s Pick.
🧪 STRATEGY: Netflix is bringing back free trials in selected markets while expanding experiments with new content formats, partnerships and product features, including YouTube shows, live channels and cloud gaming. More in my Analysis section.
⚽ SPORTS: YouTube says the World Cup 2026 became the most-watched World Cup in its history, reaching 1.7 billion unique viewers, with 550 million watching on connected TVs and 2.5 billion views generated by World Cup creators. More in my Analysis section.
🛡️ PIRACY: beIN says protecting the FIFA World Cup now requires a global operation combining AI, automated monitoring, digital forensics and collaboration with governments, platforms and rights holders to combat illegal IPTV, social media piracy and cybercrime networks.
📺 FAST: Lovin’ Dubai has launched a 24/7 FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels, bringing local news, culture, lifestyle and viral content to connected TV audiences across the UAE.
📊 MICRODRAMA: Men now represent more than 30% of Holywater’s microdrama users, up from just 1.1% two years ago, while viewers aged 22–27 have nearly tripled their share as the format expands beyond romance into genres including sci-fi, fantasy and comedy.
🤖 AI: Azuran Studio produced 34 AI-generated World Cup videos in two and a half months, generating more than 30 million views, 2 million likes and major follower growth across its French, English and Spanish accounts.
🎮 GAMING: Amazon has integrated its Luna cloud gaming service into Prime Video, adding a dedicated Games tab on Fire TV devices to make video games part of its broader entertainment experience.
Attending IBC2026? Join me and White Peaks Solutions for a live session on the role of data and insights in streaming media. We’ll cover exclusive case studies from MENA, including the streaming landscape, Ramadan viewing, the 2026 World Cup and more!
📅 September 13 | 🕓 4:00 PM | 📍 Booth 2.C41b
HBO Max launches a vertical video feed to boost content discovery
What happened?
👉 HBO Max has introduced HBO Max Shorts, a new vertical, scrollable feed designed to help users discover content through short clips from its existing library.
Key details:
The feature is currently being tested with a select group of iOS users in the U.S., with plans to expand to more devices, markets and include sports content.
Users can browse trailers, memorable scenes and bonus content, then immediately jump into the full title or save it to My List.
The clips are personalized based on viewing history and are generated using an in-house AI tool that helps editors identify and adapt scenes into a vertical format.
HBO Max also announced a new AI-powered conversational search feature that lets users discover content using natural language prompts.
Why it matters?
🎯 HBO Max is following Netflix and other streaming platforms in adopting vertical video as a discovery tool rather than a new content format. Instead of creating original short-form programming, it is using AI and familiar social media behaviors to make its existing catalog more engaging and increase viewing of long-form content.
Netflix returns to experimentation across its streaming business
👉 Netflix is reviving several strategies it had previously moved away from, including free trials in selected markets, while expanding experiments with new content formats, partnerships and product features.
📍 The company has also decided to reduce the frequency of its public viewership reports from twice a year to once a year, giving it more flexibility to test new initiatives. At the same time, Netflix continues to experiment with YouTube content, video podcasts, live channels, cloud gaming and broadcaster partnerships such as TF1 in France before deciding whether to scale them globally.
💡 By testing new business models, content formats and distribution partnerships on a small scale before expanding them, Netflix is continuing the approach that helped it build its leadership in streaming.
YouTube records its biggest World Cup ever
👉 YouTube says the World Cup 2026 became the most-watched World Cup in the platform’s history, reaching more than 1.7 billion unique viewers globally and surpassing 200 billion lifetime views across all FIFA World Cup-related videos.
📍 More than 550 million viewers watched on connected TVs, while the Spain vs. Argentina final attracted over 21 million average minute audience across 40+ markets and peaked at 27 million concurrent viewers. FIFA’s official YouTube channel gained 7.5 million new subscribers during the tournament, while World Cup creators with a combined 350 million subscribers generated more than 2.5 billion views.
💡 The World Cup is becoming much more than a live sports event on YouTube. By combining official broadcasts, creator content and connected TV viewing, the platform is positioning itself as a central destination for both premium live sports and year-round football engagement.
👠 The Devil Wears Prada 2 from Lauren Weisberger, David Frankel, and Aline Brosh McKenna (Disney+): Andy Sachs returns to Runway as Miranda Priestly navigates a new media landscape and Runway’s position within. The duo reconnect with former assistant Emily Charlton, now the head of a luxury brand that possesses funding which could ensure Runway’s survival.
😈 In 2006, The Devil Wears Prada premiered in theaters. Directed by David Frankel and based on Lauren Weisberger’s bestselling novel, the film follows aspiring journalist Andy Sachs as she becomes the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the powerful and demanding editor-in-chief of a leading fashion magazine. Blending comedy, drama and fashion, The Devil Wears Prada became one of the defining films of the 2000s, earning critical acclaim for Meryl Streep’s iconic performance and cementing its status as a modern pop culture classic.
🧪 Fresh from The Lab:
Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back next week with my MENA insights.
🔝 Want to know which Arabic titles are winning on Netflix? Check my new Streaming in MENA: Netflix Top 10 Dashboard and let me know what you think.
