20-Minute Shorts: Verified News in Vertical Format
20 Minuten is launching a new video experience in its app called “Shorts”: Users swipe vertically through curated short videos covering news, entertainment, and inspiration—and can switch to the text version with a single click.
20 Minutes Shorts: Swipe Through Verified Content
Since May 11, 2026, 20 Minuten Shorts has been offering a new video experience within the 20 Minuten app. With a single click, users can switch from the classic homepage to a vertical video world where they can swipe through short videos covering news, entertainment, and inspiration. Unlike on social media platforms, this content is exclusively verified, reviewed by the editorial team, and presented in a concise format.
Anyone who wants to learn more about the background of a video can click on «Go to Article» to go directly to the corresponding written story. According to 20 Minuten, this merges video and text into a seamless user experience. Additional features such as double playback speed, fast-forwarding and rewinding, and the ability to comment on posts are also available to users.
Response to Changes in User Behavior
The new format was developed in response to the changing usage patterns of young audiences, who are increasingly consuming content in the form of short videos. In addition, the Reuters report «Understanding Young News Audiences at a Time of Rapid Change» from March 2026 shows that 60 percent of the younger generation is concerned about fake news and prefers verified content. 20 Minuten is thus explicitly positioning 20 Minuten Shorts as an alternative to algorithmically curated social media feeds.
CEO Bernhard Brechbühl says: «The new 20-Minuten video experience combines the best of both worlds: authentic content verified by our editorial team and a modern user experience. This offers our advertising clients new opportunities for a high-impact presence in our trusted environment.»
Developed in-house, new production team
The format was developed in-house by an interdisciplinary team—led by Basil Honegger, Head of Video News and member of the editorial board; Mark Luxenhofer, Video Product Manager; and Beat Krapf, Chief Operations Officer. The content is produced by a newly formed four-person team led by Adriel Monostori.
At launch, various formats will be available to advertisers, which will be expanded and further developed after the launch phase.
For more information about the new format, visit https://vertical-video.20min.ch/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
