Vertical video market projected to hit $150 billion in 2026 amid fierce competition
A new Owl & Co. study forecasts that vertical media will generate $150 billion globally in 2026, driven mainly by advertising on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Owl & Co.’s first-half-2026 vertical media analysis projects $150 billion in revenue for the sector outside of China, a 42% increase over the previous year. Advertising is expected to supply $131 billion of that total, primarily through TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. The study highlights Disney’s high-profile deal with TikTok to license its intellectual property for user-generated vertical videos, noting that original vertical productions remain rare.
Competitive pressure is intensifying as dozens of niche apps—ReelShort, DramaBox, PineDrama and MyDrama among them—spend heavily on social-media marketing to attract viewers, mirroring TikTok’s 2020 growth strategy. Meta, ByteDance and YouTube dominate the market, generating 94% of all vertical media revenue, with the U.S. accounting for about 40% of global earnings. While romance and thriller formats still lead, business, finance and news content now represent 12% of viewership outside China.
Why it matters
The vertical video boom reshapes advertising spend and content creation, affecting major media firms and advertisers.
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