In a column for Variety, media adviser Hernan Lopez argues that vertical media has emerged as a distinct third "audiovisual language", taking its place alongside film and television rather than merely imitating them. He contends that just as film and television each developed their own talent pools, aesthetics and business models, vertical content—led for now by microdramas—is a new form built natively for the phone and for digital audiences. The point matters because major studios, platforms and investors are treating vertical as a serious commercial category rather than a passing novelty.

Lopez traces the format's roots to vertical clips noticed by TV stations as early as 2010, through TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, to a new ecosystem of serialised microdramas that began in China before spreading West, blending soap-opera storytelling, TikTok's swipe mechanics and mobile-gaming monetisation. He frames microdramas as merely one early genre—akin to 1950s soap operas for TV—and notes vertical formats now spanning news, sports, reality, comedy, live shopping and documentary. His firm estimates vertical video outside China is on track to generate $150bn in revenue this year, a figure that includes Meta's Reels at a reported $50bn annual run rate, more than Netflix's global revenue last year; he adds that Amazon, Alphabet, Comcast, Disney, Meta, Netflix and Paramount all discussed vertical products in recent earnings, even as some executives still dismiss the format.