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Media Disney+ Turns To TikTok In Search Of Daily Engagement By Maureen Kerr ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Maureen Kerr covers AI, media and entertainment economics. Follow Author Aug 06, 2026, 06:45am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Disney and TikTok are bringing selected fan-made videos featuring Disney characters into Verts, the vertical feed inside Disney+. The U.S. pilot is designed to give subscribers more reasons to open the app between major film and series releases, using a steady flow of creator content to increase discovery and time spent in the service. Participating creators will gain access to Disney assets, while selected videos will appear on both TikTok and Disney+. A separate ambassador program offers visibility, events and career development, but neither company has disclosed whether creators will be paid or what rights they grant. For Disney, the larger test is whether activity built on TikTok can become a repeat viewing habit inside a platform it owns.
Disney and TikTok said August 5 that fan-made short videos using Disney characters will appear inside Disney+.
The U.S. pilot will bring selected TikTok videos into Verts, Disney+ vertical feed, before a planned expansion to other markets.
The arrangement answers a question Disney left open five months ago. When the company introduced Verts in March , it said the feed would in time carry content from creators reflecting Disney’s fandoms. It did not say where that content would come from. The answer is a platform Disney does not own, people Disney does not employ and commercial terms neither company has disclosed.
Creators opt in. A selected, rotating group of their videos will appear in two places: on TikTok, where the work was made, and in Verts on Disney+. The videos draw on characters and stories from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars , FX and other Disney brands, and TikTok is giving participating creators access to assets tied to hundreds of films and series from the Disney library. The selection will be refreshed on a rolling basis.
A jointly run Disney Creator Ambassador Program sits alongside the content arrangement. Disney and TikTok describe it as tiered, offering selected creators rewards, greater visibility, entry to exclusive events and career development. Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.
“The best storytellers are fans first,” said Asad Ayaz, chief marketing and brand officer at Disney.
Verts itself reached the Disney+ mobile app in the United States in March, after Disney showed the product at its 2026 Global Tech and Data Showcase . At launch, the feed drew entirely from Disney’s own catalog, serving scenes and moments from films and series already available on Disney+, with a swipe adding a title to a watchlist or opening it directly. Disney credited the engagement it recorded to the recommendation engine behind the feed.
The announcement is precise about the non-cash benefits available to creators and silent about whether they receive cash compensation. Participants opt in, gain access to Disney assets and may be selected for ambassador tiers offering visibility, event access and career development. On the economics, the public record stops there.
The undisclosed terms fall into three areas: payment, rights and control.
Disney and TikTok have not said whether creators are paid when their work appears in Verts, or whether access and visibility are the only compensation. They have not disclosed what rights creators grant, how long those rights persist or whether a creator can remove a video from Disney+ while leaving it on TikTok.
The companies have also not explained who selects or moderates the videos carried by Disney+, or whether participation can lead to broader commercial work with Disney.
None of this indicates that the terms are unfavorable to creators. It indicates that the terms are not public.
Disney does not need TikTok to supply films or television series. It needs TikTok to supply something Disney+ has not yet consistently created: a reason to open the app when there is no particular title to watch.
Disney+ was built around deliberate viewing. A subscriber opens it to watch a film, an episode or a live event. TikTok was built around habitual use, with an effectively continuous feed of short videos selected for the individual viewer.
Verts is an attempt to bring some of that behavior into Disney+. The agreement gives Disney access to a stream of fan-made work connected to its films, shows and characters, while giving TikTok creators a new distribution surface inside a subscription product.
On Disney’s August 5 earnings call , Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said porting TikTok content into Disney+ would create “a more complete experience” and make it “a stickier app.” He presented the agreement as part of Disney’s effort to increase engagement, encourage discovery and keep subscribers inside the service for longer.
That makes the deal less about adding another content category than changing the rhythm of Disney+. Professionally produced films and series arrive according to a release schedule. Creator videos can appear continuously, react immediately to new releases and keep a franchise active between official installments.
Disney has told investors that it wants Disney+ to become the digital center of its relationship with fans, eventually connecting video with games, merchandise and other experiences. The TikTok agreement offers an early test of whether Disney+ can expand beyond finished entertainment and make fandom itself part of the product.
Disney’s direct-to-consumer strategy rests on ownership. Through Disney+, the company controls the point of contact, the subscriber relationship and the first-party data generated by viewing behavior.
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