Paramount+ short-form feed: what it means for creators
If you make stuff for the internet, here's the slightly unsettling thought: the next "social feed" you'll be competing in might be sitting right next to SpongeBob and Yellowstone.
Streaming apps are quietly trying to turn passive TV time into scroll time. And when big media wants scroll time, they don't do it politely.
What happened
Paramount Skydance is working on adding a short-form video experience inside Paramount+. The target is a mobile-first clips feed, with an internal push to load it up fast - think "a million clips" fast - using Paramount's existing library and machine-learning tooling.
Early on, this is mostly going to be studio-owned material (show moments, highlights, promo-y snippets). But Paramount is also looking at user-generated content as a cheaper way to pull attention into the app.
This isn't happening in a vacuum. Netflix has been talking about a more social, daily-engagement style app experience (including clips and video podcasts). Disney+ has also signaled it's building a vertical video feed. Translation: the streamers are copying the same playbook everyone ran after TikTok took off - capture the scroll, then upsell the long-form.
Why creators should care
Because "distribution" is getting a new set of gatekeepers. You already live under the algorithms of YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Now imagine the same fight, but inside closed subscription ecosystems where studios own the home screen and can privilege their own IP.
Because your clips may become the trailer system for TV. These feeds aren't being built to celebrate creators. They're being built to keep people from leaving the app - and to funnel viewers into full episodes, movies, and paid plans. If user-generated content gets invited in, it'll likely be because it functions like free marketing, cheap programming, or both.
Because it changes how audiences "watch" shows. Gen Z behavior has been bending toward highlights, recaps, reactions, and "the one scene everyone's talking about." Streamers pushing short-form inside their apps is basically them admitting that the clip is now the first unit of attention, not the episode.
Because it affects your workflow. If you work with studios, manage talent, or run a production business, you're about to get more requests for vertical cut-downs, alt edits, and rapid-turn "clip packs." And if you're an independent creator? You may get new licensing opportunities - or new takedowns. Sometimes both in the same week.
Mentor note: when a platform adds a feed, it's not a feature. It's a land grab for your time.What to do next
Build a "clips operating system" now. Don't wait for Paramount+ (or any streamer) to define the format. Start producing 9:16 cut-downs as a default output: hooks in the first second, readable captions, clean rights. Make it boringly repeatable.
Own the relationship off-platform. If attention gets rerouted into paid apps, you'll feel it in reach volatility. Push harder on email, community, and direct subscriptions - anything where the algorithm can't change your rent overnight.
Get serious about rights and clearances. Clip ecosystems create more remixing, more reuse, more "inspired by." Make sure your music, footage, and talent releases are clean. If you react to TV/film, expect stricter enforcement as studios treat clips as strategic inventory.
Watch for creator programs - but read the fine print like a lawyer with trust issues. If streamers open the door to UGC, it'll come with strings: exclusivity windows, licensing terms, rev-share rules, brand safety constraints. Don't hand over your best-performing format without a path to upside.