Vertical short-form video content is coming to the home screen of Google TV devices in the U.S. this summer, starting with YouTube Shorts.
Google made the announcement Wednesday alongside other updates for Google TV that are meant to make the experience more personalized and interactive (where interactivity, always-on TV and more conversational back-and-forth between users and their devices are among Google’s TV bets).
Updates also include the ability to use conversational voice prompts for AI-powered applications on Gemini-enabled Google TV-powered devices, with the integration of Nano Banana to reimagine user photos and Veo to create clip videos from scratch or animate favorite photos.
As for the short-form video, Google-owned YouTube Shorts first became available on connected TV in 2022 but now will be the first to make their debut on a dedicated row on Google TV devices – marking the first platform to directly integrate them on the CTV home screen.
And more short vertical videos are poised to come to the platform.
Google TV’s home screen will have a new dedicated and personalized vertical “Short videos for you” row in the U.S. starting this summer.
It comes amid continued consumer consumption – including younger generations - of scrollable, short-form social video content and efforts by other streamers to also engage viewers and on a more regularly basis with short-form clips and content.
“Watching short clips has become a daily go-to for many of us, which is why we're making it easier than ever to kick back and enjoy them right on your TV,” wrote Google TV in its announcement. “Just jump in to get a personalized feed of snackable videos, starting with YouTube Shorts.”
No word yet on what other type of short-form vertical video content is poised to join the CTV platform.
In February 2025, Google executives said 15% of Shorts viewing in the U.S. was taking place on CTV.
Wolfe Research equity analyst Peter Supino in a note to investors last December wrote that although “likely off a very small base,” Google disclosed views of YouTube Shorts on CTVs grew more than 75% in 2024.
The addition of YouTube Shorts to Google TV’s home screen also follows the entrance of other vertical short-form social video players and tech giant’s getting in on the living room’s largest screen – such as Meta testing out Instagram Reels on CTV starting last December on Amazon Fire TV devices in the U.S.
And with Google’s larger YouTube app already showing dominance in the CTV viewing sphere, consumer survey data from Hub Entertainment also indicates consumers’ view of “TV” is changing, and there may be appetite for watching short-form and social video content on the TV screen.
Per Hub’s Video Redefined survey fielded in December, well over half of Gen Z viewers age 13-34 agreed that watching short YouTube video clips on the big TV screen is just as fun as watching longer TV shows and movies. The sentiment is more split among viewers age 35 years and older, with about 39% agreeing and 33% disagreeing.
What’s more, as the OS provider, with direct integration into home screen rows, YouTube Shorts stand to have better visibility and content discovery as Google TV users first power on their CTVs.