Made for Mobile. Exploring the effect of vertical video formats on online public television viewer experience

A renewed orientation on vertical content is becoming more prevalent in both the academic and social domain. With vertical content recently experiencing widespread implementation in countless of contexts, questions are raised as to how mobile users respond to this format. Consequently, this research examined the effect of vertical video formats on the viewer experience and subsequent user satisfaction of individuals exposed to news content on a mobile phone. By doing so, a first step is taken in empirically assessing how vertical video content is perceived by individuals in a context of news consumption. Through theory on Public Service Media, vertical formats and viewer experience, this research sheds light on a media production domain that aims to strike a balances between public value and digital innovation. Arriving at the hypotheses, this research aimed to uncover the impact of different video formats on the self-reported perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, flow state and user satisfaction of participants. A between-subject experiment was conducted with emphasis on a sample that matched the target audience of Dutch public broadcaster NPO. In total, three different video formats (horizontal format, vertical format, responsive vertical format) were developed and compared with each other. In each of the three conditions, participants were exposed to the same news item, albeit in a different format. The results show that a responsive vertical format, which is not only screen-filling but also accounts for a potential loss of information caused by cropping the original footage, results in an improved viewer experience in comparison to a horizontal format. It was found that the positive viewer experience induced by the responsive vertical video led to an increase in user satisfaction, which in its turn resulted in a continued intention to watch vertical video content. The empirical findings underwrite the potential of vertical content in successfully reaching audiences. When transforming existing horizontal content however, the success of a vertical adaptation is largely dependent on how the original footage was produced. Future research could develop on these findings by comparing horizontal video to vertical content that was originally shot and produced with vertical viewing in mind.