HBO Max adds a vertical Shorts feed without commissioning verticals

Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday 28 July 2026 that HBO Max is testing a Shorts icon in its bottom navigation bar, reported by TechCrunch (Aisha Malik) and by the company's own pressroom. Tapping the icon opens a vertical feed of trailers, clips and bonus material drawn from the existing library and personalised to viewing history; a further tap starts the full title or adds it to My List. An in-house AI tool pre-selects clips from scene metadata across thousands of hours of material, and HBO Max editors make the final selection. Playback is verticalised to 9:16. The test runs only with selected iOS users in the United States.

What it is not is as clear as what it is: no originals, no vertical commissioning, no coin or per-episode monetisation and no standalone app. It is a discovery funnel into long-form.

With Netflix's Clips, Disney+'s Verts, launched 12 March 2026, and Peacock's feed of 13 March 2026, all four large Western incumbents now operate a vertical feed. None has entered paid microdrama.