The news: The New York Times added a Watch tab to its app Tuesday in an effort to boost engagement and usher in more advertising business.

• The tab features a mix of short-form, swipeable, vertical video content produced in-house by the Times’ editorial team, per Adweek. That includes editorial coverage as well as content from Times brands like NYT Cooking, The Athletic, and Wirecutter.
• In early 2026, the publisher plans to open video ad placements within the tab to brands through a beta program, per Axios.

Why it matters: This is an especially critical time for news publishers considering 38% of the 8,891 US newspapers that existed 20 years ago have closed, per Axios.

Short-form video is the most-watched type of content for 75% of Gen Zers, per Toluna. However, only 12% of US adults between 18 and 29 have paid for a news source in the last year, per Pew Research, making it crucial for publishers to prove their value to that generation.

The Watch tab addition could spark more time spent in-app by encouraging habitual, scroll-based viewing. That increased engagement could mean more premium video inventory and first-party user data, which the Times could use to attract brand dollars away from social video platforms.

The opportunity: With display ads losing visibility and cookie deprecation limiting ad targeting, vertical video offers brands an opportunity for engaging and safe placements inside trusted environments like the Times app.

• For the Times, this move broadens monetization potential beyond traditional banners or passive subscription revenues.
• For advertisers, they can access premium audiences consuming in-feed video, similar to the way brands already engage on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and LinkedIn.

What marketers should do: AI sources are pulling referral traffic away from publisher sites like the Times, and publishers need to catch up with user behavior by adding assets that prove news sites’ value and meet demand for video content.

As publishers introduce vertical video ad inventory, marketers should rethink their media mix to include premium placements that mirror the engagement of social video—while considering how those ads may appear alongside hard news or opinion content.