A Wall Street analyst wants Netflix to challenge YouTube in the realm of short-form content

Netflix has entered into a rivalry with YouTube by greenlighting projects that feature some of the Alphabet-owned hub’s biggest stars. According to a Wall Street analyst, the follow-up to that strategy should involve a take on YouTube’s hottest format.

Steven Cahall, a media analyst for Wells Fargo, discussed Netflix in a recent note. He argued that the streamer could “navigate generational changes” by incorporating “high-value short-form content,” like the kind found on YouTube Shorts, TikTok, or Instagram Reels. That move would allow Netflix to cater to users who only have time for a little bit of streaming, rather than focusing on consumers who are ready to sit down for an hours-long binge.

Netflix is already thinking along the lines Cahall discussed. The May 2025 launch of a vertical content feed equipped the streamer with a new vehicle for distributing and promoting content. That feature arrived on the heels of a clipping tool that invited users to upload snippets of their favorite shows and movies. And on YouTube, Netflix operates multiple channels that haul in millions of weekly views, often via promotional content.

Those efforts have diversified Netflix’s on-demand output, but at the end of the day, the streamer’s short-form offerings are almost all tied to its long-form library. Cahall is suggesting something different: A selection of premium shorts that could stand on their own.

A move like that could give Netflix the opportunity to better apply its business model within a community that is eager to move beyond ad revenue. Social media content creators are increasingly turning to upfront payments and fan support as primary revenue streams, and Netflix has more experience with traditional funding models than YouTube does. The Sidemen also cited their ability to “reach a new audience” on Netflix when they moved their YouTube hit Inside to the SVOD service.

What’s clear is that Netflix must change something if it wants to keep encroaching on YouTube’s territory. While some of the streamer’s forays into the creator world have been successful, YouTube is proving to be far more powerful than the time-killer Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos makes it out to be. It is generating more watch time on TVs than Netflix, and it has a more favorable reputation among younger generations, too.

Is a short-form push the right answer to that trend, as Cahall suggests? If YouTube’s numbers are any indication, that move would at least increase Netflix’s raw viewership.