Hollywood Is Finally Paying Attention to Vertical: What Peacock Licensing ReelShort Means
A major streamer licensing vertical dramas could mark a turning point for creators and actors who built audiences in the format first.
Hollywood is finally paying attention to vertical storytelling.
Peacock licensing ReelShort dramas could mark a turning point for the creators and actors who built their audiences in the vertical space first.
Why licensing matters
For two years, vertical titles have lived only on the apps that produced them. Their casts were famous to tens of millions of viewers and invisible to the rest of the industry. A traditional casting director had no way to encounter a ReelShort lead except by downloading ReelShort.
A licensing deal with a mainstream streamer changes that in one step. The same titles, the same performers, now appear in a catalog alongside network television. The credit that was worth nothing in a casting office is suddenly a credit on Peacock.
The turning point
As another major Hollywood streamer begins licensing vertical dramas, the industry can no longer treat the category as a niche trend. The question for the people who built the format is whether this crossover lifts them with it.
The association’s view is that it will, if two things hold: the credits on the licensed titles stay attached to the performers who earned them, and the performers have a verified record of that work when the traditional industry comes looking. The first is a matter of how platforms deliver metadata. The second is what the Verified Talent Registry exists to provide.