Netflix adds BuzzFeed, Variety and more short videos to streaming library

Netflix will begin adding short videos from BuzzFeed Studios, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., Tastemade and Penske Media brands on August 3, a move that expands the streaming library beyond the company’s own originals and licensed films. The rollout will reach the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The first wave mixes licensed archive videos with new ongoing series that would normally live on YouTube or other web platforms. Reported PMX brands include Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Eater and IndieWire, while the broader launch is expected to run from roughly 2-minute clips to 20-minute videos. Among the series being folded into the service are Architectural Digest’s Open Door and Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector Test.

Netflix said the partnership is meant to let subscribers watch content “from around the Internet without having to leave Netflix.” The company is also planning to surface the videos on its homepage rather than isolate them in a separate channel, a sign that it wants this material treated less like a sidecar feature and more like part of the core browsing experience. That matters because Netflix is no longer just buying finished programming or commissioning originals. It is beginning to act more like a distributor for publisher-made video, giving media brands a new outlet at a time when digital publishers are searching for revenue outside the traditional ad market.

Hearst confirmed its participation in the partnership, underscoring that this is not a one-off experiment with a single creator but a broader publisher strategy. For the media companies involved, the business question is whether Netflix can deliver enough scale and enough value to justify shifting premium video away from their own sites and social feeds. For Netflix, the wager is different: that compact, magazine-style video can become a library category viewers browse between bigger releases, helping the service hold attention even when there is no new tentpole series on the front page.

The move follows Netflix’s recent push into live content and video podcasts, including its partnership with iHeartMedia to stream The Breakfast Club live daily on Netflix. iHeartMedia called it Netflix’s first daily live program, a notable step for a platform that has built its reputation on on-demand viewing. Together, the changes show Netflix pressing harder into short-form and live territory long dominated by YouTube and TikTok, as streaming services search for new ways to compete for audience time and slow the erosion of attention across the web.