If you pay Netflix to watch long shows and movies, you will soon have a lot more short videos to pick from, too.
Starting August 3, Netflix will add videos from big digital media brands across several niches. The rollout starts for members on all Netflix plans, but in select countries.
What is coming on August 3?
Netflix will have several brands on its shorts section.
On the food side, that includes:
- Bon Appétit
- Epicurious
- Delish
- Food & Wine
- Tasty
- Tastemade
- Eater
For travel, it will feature:
- Condé Nast Traveler
- Travel + Leisure
In the fashion and beauty niche, you’ll have these brands:
- Vogue
- Teen Vogue
- Glamour
- Allure
- ELLE
- Harper’s Bazaar
- InStyle
- Cosmopolitan
For celebrity and entertainment videos, it will comprise of:
- People
- Entertainment Weekly
- Billboard
- Variety
- Rolling Stone
- The Hollywood Reporter
- BuzzFeed Celeb
What you will actually be watching
The streaming giant is not just bringing a pile of old clips. The lineup includes licensed past videos and new ongoing series.
Some of the first shows named for the launch include: Architectural Digest’s “Open Door,” BuzzFeed’s “I Draw, You Cook,” Elle’s “Where Is the Lie,” People’s “My Life in Pictures,” and Tastemade’s “Struggle Meals.”
There is also more food video content coming. Eater alone is bringing hundreds of food and lifestyle videos, including “Mise en Place,” “Smoke Point,” “Let’s Do Lunch,” and “Chef’s Day Off,” plus older favorites like “Handmade,” “Vendors,” and “Brent Meats World.”
What does not change
This isn’t a new Netflix channel or separate app. This will not be a separate service. It is also not a sign that the streaming giant is replacing shows and movies with short clips but rather an added layer inside the app.
There will be no extra fee attached to these videos at launch. Since the rollout covers all subscription levels, you also do not need to move to a more expensive tier to watch them.
You also should not expect a worldwide launch on day one. The first wave is limited to six markets. These are:
- U.S.
- Canada
- U.K.
- Ireland
- Australia
- New Zealand
No launch date has been announced yet for other countries.
How this could change the way you use Netflix
Short clips play for your attention outside the usual evening watching window. This is the kind of scrolling you’d normally do on YouTube or TikTok, except now it happens without you ever leaving Netflix.
Whether that’s a win depends on what you use Netflix for. If you like having everything under one roof, great. If you open the app strictly for scripted shows, the shorts on your homepage might just be clutter you scroll past.