SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Netflix has signed licensing agreements with several major U.S. media publishers to add short-form video content to its streaming platform, expanding its offerings as it competes with TikTok and YouTube.
The agreements include publishers Penske Media, BuzzFeed Studios, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines and People Inc., which will provide news, lifestyle, celebrity and instructional video programming.
Entertainment publication Variety, which is owned by Penske Media, first reported the agreements on Tuesday. Hearst confirmed its deal with Netflix to AFP but did not disclose additional details.
Netflix will begin rolling out the content on Aug. 3 to subscribers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
The agreements bring content from brands including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Bon Appétit, People and Variety to the platform.
Among the programs included are Vanity Fair‘s “Lie Detector,” BuzzFeed’s “30 Questions,” and Variety‘s “Know Their Lines?”
“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,” said John Derderian, Netflix vice president of animation series and kids and family TV.
Netflix signed the agreements as it faces increasing competition from platforms focused on short-form video.
According to research firm Digital i, cited by TechCrunch, YouTube surpassed Netflix in average daily viewing time in 2025. eMarketer data also showed that U.S. adults spent nearly as much time on TikTok as on Netflix in 2024.
Netflix recently redesigned its platform to include a vertical video feed similar to TikTok’s format. The company has also expanded its offerings to include video games, podcasts and live events.
Bloomberg reported that internal Netflix data showed more viewers stopped watching popular series before their second seasons, indicating changing viewing habits as audiences increasingly consume short-form content.
