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How to thrive in a mobile-first world
The writing is on the wall—or rather, on the smartphone screen. If your organization isn't producing vertical video content, you're missing a critical opportunity to connect with younger audiences who have fundamentally different viewing habits than previous generations.
The statistics tell a stark story: 72% of millennials refuse to rotate their phones to watch horizontal videos, and 66% of people worldwide watch short news videos weekly. The problem? Over two-thirds of that viewing happens on social platforms, not on publishers' own sites or apps.
Two major broadcasters—one in France, another in North America—have successfully navigated this shift, implementing vertical video strategies that have transformed their digital engagement. Their experiences offer a roadmap for other organizations facing the same challenge.
For legal reasons, we’ve kept brand names out of this article, but all the data is real.
The strategic imperative behind vertical video
The shift to vertical isn't just about following trends—it's about survival in a mobile-first world. Traditional broadcasters face a troubling reality: younger audiences are consuming news content, but not from traditional sources.
As the French network's product director explained, "On our platforms, we felt something was missing—a format capable of boosting engagement, attracting a younger audience, and serving our business strategy."
The North American broadcaster, despite accumulating over 50 million followers across TikTok and Instagram Reels, recognized the inherent risk in relying entirely on third-party platforms. With uncertain regulatory futures and limited monetization control, they needed to bring that vertical experience to their own properties.
This strategic thinking—owning the audience relationship rather than renting it—represents a fundamental shift in how broadcasters should approach digital transformation.
Overcoming implementation challenges
The transition to vertical video requires addressing challenges across three key areas:
Product and user experience
To fully own the format, broadcasters need to build entirely new vertical experiences within their apps. This means designing smooth carousels for browsing stories, creating immersive full-screen playback modes, and implementing swipe-up navigation familiar to social media users.
The challenge is to maintain brand identity and quality standards while adapting to a format traditionally associated with social platforms.
Editorial workflows
Video editors need training to produce content in 9:16 aspect ratio, while graphics teams need to create entirely new packages for vertical video—from title cards to lower thirds. Organizations have to adjust priorities to meet ambitious volume targets of dozens of shorts per day while maintaining existing operations.
Resource efficiency
Perhaps most critically, vertical video needs to become a part of your content stack without doubling production costs or staff. Broadcasters can achieve this by repurposing existing live content and leveraging automation to minimize additional labor.
Technical solutions for vertical transformation
Wildmoka delivers a comprehensive solution that allows broadcasters to:
- Transform live broadcasts into vertical format using AutoReZone technology
- Clip and edit vertical content directly from the verticalized feed
- Distribute vertical shorts seamlessly to their mobile apps and social platforms
The key is finding solutions that don't simply crop content but intelligently reframe it.
Wildmoka's AutoReZone technology converts traditional 16:9 broadcasts into 9:16 format in real-time. It uses computer vision and scene analysis to identify areas of interest in each shot, then recomposes layouts as needed.
For example:
- Side-by-side interview shots become stacked vertical views
- Graphics and text overlays automatically optimize for vertical viewing
This approach addresses one of the biggest concerns for broadcast organizations: maintaining production quality while scaling output in in-demand formats. Rather than creating entirely separate vertical productions, broadcasters can repurpose existing live content through intelligent automation.
Going back to our French and North American use cases, the Wildmoka workflow that both organizations implemented involves:
- AutoReZone for real-time conversion: Live broadcasts automatically generate vertical versions simultaneously with traditional feeds
- Wildmoka Clip Studio for editing: Editorial teams clip and enhance videos from the vertical stream using the browser-based editing suite
- Branded graphics integration: Custom vertical graphics packages imported into Wildmoka's tools for overlays, titles, and captions
- Seamless publishing: Direct publishing through Wildmoka's platform to content management systems and mobile apps
Measuring success in the vertical era
The French broadcaster's results provide a compelling case for vertical investment:
- 2.5 million vertical video views monthly
- 7-10 videos viewed on average per session
- Consistently increasing in-app time spent
- New monetization through vertical-specific ad formats
The North American broadcaster has found that Wildmoka's tools provide exceptional flexibility—even in emergency situations:
"Over the weekend there was breaking news at midnight Saturday night. A colleague called me to alert me to the news. In a bit of a fog from being woken up, I sat on my bed and opened my laptop, logged in to Wildmoka, clicked on the Auto ReZone feed in the Clipping interface and quickly made a clip of the breaking news story, in vertical format. I used the Publish Template to quickly apply graphics, updated some text and published the clip to the web site within minutes of the story breaking. Then I went back to bed. This was the dream scenario as to why we use Wildmoka."
The North American network also reported:
- Accelerated production processes enabling more clips per day
- A continuous stream of fresh shorts covering breaking news, explainers, and feature stories
- Potential to boost in-app engagement and time spent, especially among the coveted 18-34 demographic
- Positive qualitative feedback from young viewers who appreciate getting serious news in the familiar vertical format
Both networks have seen accelerated production processes, a continuous stream of fresh news content, and positive feedback from younger viewers who appreciate receiving serious news in familiar formats.
Measuring the success of vertical video
The broadcasters' experiences reveal that vertical video implementation is just the beginning of broader transformation. Future plans include enhancing in-app discovery for vertical content, creating more original vertical-specific programming, and extending successful formats across multiple brand properties.
For the North American network, key performance indicators focus on daily active users in video sections, video views and swipe-through rates, and user retention driven by vertical features.
Strategic considerations for your organization
Before implementing vertical video, broadcasting organizations should consider several key factors:
Audience analysis: Understand your current audience demographics and growth targets. If reaching younger viewers is a priority, vertical video becomes essential rather than optional.
Platform strategy: Decide whether you're primarily feeding social platforms or building your own vertical experiences. The most successful approach may be doing both.
Resource allocation: Consider whether you have the editorial and technical resources to maintain quality while scaling production. Automation becomes crucial for sustainable implementation.
Monetization planning: Vertical video opens new advertising opportunities, but requires different approaches than traditional formats.
Technology integration: Evaluate how vertical video production will integrate with existing workflows and systems. Cloud-based solutions like Wildmoka often provide the agility needed for successful implementation.
Future-proofing your digital strategy
As mobile consumption continues dominating media habits, broadcasters face a choice: adapt to how audiences actually consume content, or watch them migrate entirely to platforms that do.
The organizations profiled here chose adaptation, implementing comprehensive vertical video strategies that engage younger audiences while maintaining editorial quality and building sustainable business models.
Between discussing vertical video in editorial meetings and watching users scroll through their first vertical feed, there's significant work involved. But as usage patterns clearly show, the effort pays dividends in audience engagement, retention, and revenue opportunities.
The question isn't whether vertical video will become standard for broadcasters—it's whether your organization will lead the transformation or scramble to catch up later.
For broadcasting executives and producers ready to embrace this shift, solutions like Wildmoka's AutoReZone and Clip Studio make vertical video both scalable and profitable. The real challenge is organizational: committing to change and executing comprehensive strategies that put audience needs first.
The mobile era isn't coming—it's here. And vertical video isn't a trend. It's the new reality of how people consume media. Broadcasting organizations that recognize this and act accordingly will own the relationship with the next generation of news consumers.
Want to learn how Wildmoka can help your media organization engage younger audiences with vertical video? Contact our team now to discuss how Wildmoka's Clip Studio and Auto ReZone streamline your operations, expand your reach, and keep your audience engaged—wherever they are, whenever they want, and how they prefer.