Publishers Are Ready for a Vertical Future

New York, NY – To mark the launch of Bytes, our new vertical video experience for the open web, Media.net hosted an exclusive event at Civic Hall in New York City. The event — “From Feeds to Focus: The Publisher Playbook for Monetizing Vertical Storytelling” — featuring a panel of top global publishing leaders: Mark Howard, Chief Operating Officer at TIME; Alysia Borsa, Chief Business Officer at People Inc.; Jonathan Hills, SVP of Product at TMB; and Rachael Savage, SVP of Ad Revenue Operations at Hearst — joined by our own Steve Florio, SVP of Global Supply Partnerships at Media.net.

Together, they explored how vertical video is reshaping content and audience engagement — and how solutions like Bytes can help publishers reclaim social dollars and continue to engage their loyal audiences in a world increasingly dominated by walled gardens and AI.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the discussion.

The Technology is Finally Catching Up

Until now, social platforms have owned the vertical video space simply because they were built for mobile from day one. In contrast, legacy publishers and traditional media outlets have lacked the technical infrastructure to fully adopt and scale vertical formats.

“The video space hasn’t really innovated in 10 years,” said TMB’s Jonathan Hills. “On the web, you mostly see a horizontal clip embedded on a page… it hasn’t really changed very much.” TIME’s Mark Howard emphasized that publishers must evolve alongside changing consumer behavior, noting that the shift toward vertical video requires both technical and creative adaptation. “We should be building things people love to use—that’s where it begins.”

Publishers Must Compete – Through Vertical Video

Publishers today face more competition than ever for audience attention. “More young people view TikTok as their source of news than any other platform… that’s telling,” said TIME’s Howard.

Our own Steve Florio added, “The open web is under headwinds… but that’s a problem and an opportunity to meet consumers where they already spend time.”

In the past, social media platforms posed the biggest threat by siphoning off publisher engagement and video views. Now, even search has become a challenge, with AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity reshaping how people find and consume information. Per Hills at TMB: “In general, the space is seeing changes in traffic patterns from search and social and beyond. So I think we're looking, as everyone should be, to build stronger connections with your best users when they come to you—to give them an experience that really delights them, that they want to stay around and come back more often.”

Delivering the Best Experience

With technology like Bytes now available, publishers are aligned on the need to embrace vertical video. The next step is rapid experimentation—testing formats, placements, and creative approaches to find the most engaging experiences for audiences.

People Inc.’s Alysia Borsa underscored this point, saying, “It’s not just slapping vertical video on the site—it takes time, testing, and learning.” She added, “We’re testing everything—page location, buttons, designs, titles—and iterating together really quickly.”

Hills also emphasized the importance of user experience: “So we’re testing various different units and placements, and even how it actually unfurls for the user, interaction-wise, on pages. It feels a lot more natural and smoother, so I think we’re excited… by the experience.”

Florio noted that the early results are promising. “Early days, but we’re already seeing a 100-second boost in session time across publishers.”

Demand is Rising

Until recently, publishers simply haven’t had the technology or infrastructure to monetize vertical video at scale. With solutions like Bytes, that’s changing fast. For the first time, publishers can offer vertical video inventory across premium environments—and advertisers are beginning to take notice.

Brand safety and suitability are also helping publishers stand apart from user-generated content platforms, many of which are loosening their moderation policies and increasingly relying on AI-generated video to fill their feeds. In contrast, premium publishers see an opportunity to deliver vertical video in a secure, high-quality context.

As Hearst’s Rachael Savage added, "Advertisers are coming to us for our trusted brands… this could be editorial adjacency, or branded content – and both of those things could be shot from an iPhone in a very authentic and thoughtful way."

People Inc.’s Alysia Borsa agreed, noting that publishers are now retraining advertisers to look beyond social platforms. “That’s part of the goal of what we’re trying to do—create that demand and showcase what we can do. It’s not that they don’t want it, but I think they’ve been trained to go to the platforms for it. Now here’s the opportunity for us to say, we can provide this within an intent-driven, brand-safe environment.”

Both publications—and many others—are positioning their brands as safe, high-quality environments for advertisers wary of UGC risks.

How Bytes Is Driving Vertical Video on the Open Web

All of the publishers who participated in the panel are now either live with Bytes or in the process of integrating it across their properties.

According to People Inc.’s Alysia Borsa, “We launched in April… we’ve seen really high engagement — click-through rate, time on site. The engagement is there.”

TMB’s Jonathan Hills added, “This product really helps us to elevate video, surface video in really new and interesting ways for the user. At TMB and all of our brands, we’re seeing some great initial reactions to the products.”

TIME’s Mark Howard echoed the sentiment, saying, “We have Bytes on our pages now… The open web is under all kinds of pressures… So, the opportunity is to rise to the moment, meet consumers with the way in which they’ve already voted with their time.”

At its core, Bytes is a first-to-market, AI-enabled vertical video engagement and advertising solution for the open web. Designed to bring the high-engagement experience of social-style video to premium publisher environments, Bytes unlocks new revenue opportunities for publishers while enabling advertisers to activate across channels powered by Media.net’s proprietary search intent and contextual intelligence.

Bytes was developed to meet the rising demand for short-form, high-impact video advertising that mirrors the social media experience—while helping publishers combat traffic loss from AI-driven content discovery through stronger engagement. With 71% of mobile users preferring vertical video over horizontal and short-form video delivering 2.5x higher engagement, Bytes allows publishers to tap into the performance-driven power of vertical video while maintaining full control over their inventory and data.

Looking Ahead: The Future Is Vertical

At the end of the panel, all of the speakers agreed that 2026 will be a defining year of transformation for publishing and advertising. “2026 I think is going to be the biggest year of evolution in terms of what we do—probably ever,” said TIME’s Mark Howard. “Just like every other industry is changing, transformations are being accelerated by AI and social media.”

That pace of change, echoed across the panel, is pushing publishers to rethink how they connect with audiences, where they show up, and how they sustain loyalty in a fragmented, algorithm-driven world.

As Hearst’s Rachael Savage put it, “It’s a transformative year, and it really is about those consumer connections—but it’s really about consumer connections in new and different ways.” For publishers like People Inc., that means building around the audience first. “Success will be how you best serve the needs of your fans, your users,” said Jonathan Hills. “Those needs are changing very quickly… that’s really the north star of success for any brand.”

As short-form video becomes the dominant language of the internet, vertical formats will play a central role in how trusted media brands meet that moment - bringing creativity, context, and credibility to the open web.

Bytes is helping make that future possible today. 

To learn more visit https://www.media.net/bytes-vertical-video and to explore how your site or brand can integrate vertical video across the open web, reach out to our team at Bytes@media.net.

From Feeds to Focus - Event Highlights