CNN takes from TikTok playbook with new ‘swipe up’ vertical video feed

As more people turn toward TikTok and other vertical video apps to consume news, CNN is leaning in.

The news organization has added a vertical video feed to the homepage of its mobile app. Users can now toggle between headlines in the text-based “Top Stories” tab and a short-form video tab similar to many of the “Reels” functions introduced to social media apps in recent years.

It’s an evolution of the existing “CNN Shorts” video player, which lived in its “Watch” tab at the bottom menu of the app. Outside of its own platform, CNN has been producing vertical video content on YouTube, TikTok and other social media sites for more than two years.

CNN isn’t alone among news outlets in the push into the vertical video format. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other mainstream media outlets have invested heavily in the format.

More “innovations” are still to come, according to a news release from CNN.

The launch represents another endeavor to enhance CNN’s digital experience as audiences turn away from traditional television and seek news in other formats. Last month, the organization launched its new subscription video service called CNN All Access, a bet that a direct-to-consumer offering can help combat declining viewership and revenue from the linear television business.

All Access is a centralized destination for all of the organization’s reporting, including multiple livestream channels, hours of content in the CNN Originals library, new episodes of original series the day after their television airing and new on-demand programming.