Vertical Video for CTV: Repackaging Creative You Already Shot
Quick Answer
Vertical video for CTV is the practice of taking creative shot in portrait, usually UGC style, and repackaging it for the 16x9 inventory connected TV sells. The reframe has to hold up visually, and the creator agreement behind the footage has to grant usage beyond social.
Why is vertical video for CTV a budget question this year?
Because the money moved to the living room. US CTV ad spend is projected near $38 billion in 2026, up roughly 14% year over year from $33.35 billion in 2025, according to EMARKETER. EMARKETER also puts US CTV upfront ad spending at $17.73 billion in 2026, ahead of primetime linear TV upfront ad spending at $16.98 billion for the first time.
Meanwhile the creative that performs for you is portrait, shot for feeds, often by creators you booked for a social campaign. You have a media plan that wants 16x9 and a library that is 9x16.
Reshooting the library is the expensive answer. Our paid media use case covers where the repackaging work sits.
What breaks when you reframe vertical video for CTV?
Composition breaks. A shot framed for a phone puts the subject dead centre in a tall crop, with product and text living in the top and bottom thirds that a landscape frame throws away.
"if you've got a horizontal video that you're now expanding and making parts of it vertical, getting that to look somewhat seamless is, you know, hard to do."
That is a creative stakeholder at a travel advertising technology company, describing the reframe running the other way. The difficulty travels in both directions. You are moving a subject composed for one aspect ratio into a frame whose safe areas do not line up.
A social video producer at an enterprise cloud security company described the same fight from the portrait side: "I was kind of like including two different videos in one. So the problem we're running into right now is when we crop a vertical video"
For footage you have not shot yet, the cheapest fix happens on set. We wrote that up in reframing video at capture.
Who owns the rights to run vertical video for CTV?
Whoever signed the creator agreement. Usage grants are scoped by placement, term and territory, and an agreement negotiated for organic social was negotiated for organic social.
We are not going to reproduce a usage clause here and tell you what it means. Creator agreements are not standard, the wording varies by agency and by creator, and the reading that matters is of the one you actually signed. What is consistent is the shape of the question. Which placements does the grant name, for how long, in which territories, and are paid amplification and broadcast listed separately from organic social. Take those four to whoever holds the contract and you will get an answer in a day.
Settle the licensing question in the same meeting where you plan the repackaging. A rights answer that arrives after the edit turns a week of reframing into nothing.
What are your options for getting vertical video for CTV on air?
Here is the decision in front of you, and the rights question applies to every row.
| Approach | What it costs | Rights exposure | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reshoot in 16x9 | A new production for every flight | Low, if the new agreement is scoped for CTV from the start | Hero spots where CTV is the primary buy |
| Repackage existing vertical | Edit time, plus whatever the reframe costs you in composition | Depends entirely on the original grant | Creative that already proved out in feed |
| Skip CTV this cycle | Nothing, until the upfront closes without you | None | Hard to argue, given where the spend is going |
The format list rarely stops at 16x9. A marketing lead buying on behalf of the media team at an enterprise cloud and security infrastructure company asked us: "do you have that functionality for different ad sizes as well? So for our media team, if they're running digital out of home"
Sizes are in our post on paid media video specs.
How does a vertical video for CTV repackage actually run?
Take the producer above. They have a vertical cut that performs, a media team asking for 16x9 and out of home sizes, and a brand system that has to survive every one of those crops.
In a motion design system the master is built once from your After Effects templates, then rendered into each ratio with the logo, legal line and end card locked in position for that ratio. The creator footage sits inside the frame at each size instead of being stretched to fill it.
Capsule's published figures are 93% lower cost per video, 10x more videos and 8x faster production. Your creative team still owns every decision in the system. The version wrangling stops eating their week.
FAQ
What is vertical video for CTV?
Portrait creative, usually shot for social feeds, repackaged for the 16x9 inventory connected TV platforms sell. The footage gets reused. The framing, safe areas and end cards get rebuilt for the new ratio.
Can you run 9x16 creative on connected TV?
The buy is 16x9, so portrait creative has to be repackaged into landscape before it runs against CTV inventory.
Do creator agreements cover CTV or broadcast usage?
Read the usage grant before you plan the flight. Agreements written for organic social are scoped to organic social placements, and extending one to CTV is a conversation with legal and the creator.
Is it cheaper to reshoot or repackage vertical video for CTV?
Repackaging reuses footage you have already paid for and already have performance data on. The cost sits in the edit and in the rights check rather than in a new shoot.