Paco Ramos, Netflix’s VP of content for Latin America, outlines the company’s microseries strategy and reveals plans to add more live events in the region.

Paco Ramos

Global streamer Netflix is experimenting with shortform content in Latin America, but for now it has ruled out joining the trend toward vertical video content, according to Francisco ‘Paco’ Ramos, the company’s VP of content for Latin America.

Ramos attended the opening of Netflix’s new offices in Buenos Aires last week and presented the platform’s 2026/27 slate of Argentine content, which includes Carísima, a series comprising 10-minute episodes.

Carísima is Netflix’s first shortform series in Latin America, and its arrival has reignited rumours about a possible expansion by the streaming service into vertical content, something of a hot topic in the global content industry right now. While regional rivals like ViX and Disney+ have already finalised or announced plans in this regard, Carolina Leconte, Netflix’s VP of content for Mexico, had previously hinted at Content Americas in January that the company was dipping its toes into vertical series.

Ramos, however, clarified in Buenos Aires last week that while Netflix is indeed exploring shortform content, it will do so in a horizontal format, as is the case with Carísima. “In Latin America, we have a very large young audience, and we set out to experiment with new forms of content to engage with these audiences, but without venturing into microdramas,” he said during a press conference in Buenos Aires.

“We still don’t have the technical capacity to offer vertical content, at least not with a high-quality experience like the one our members expect from us. What we did set out to do was experiment, play around, but always in horizontal format,” he added.

Carísima is based on the Argentine comedy character Caro Pardíaco

Carísima is based around the Argentine comedy character Caro Pardíaco, who was born from the sketch series Cualca and who went viral as a digital phenomenon. The influential Argentine web series and sketch comedy show was created by and starred Malena Pichot, along with Julián Kartun, Julián Lucero, Julián Doregger and Charo López. Known for its fast-paced sketches covering daily life in Buenos Aires, it gained massive popularity on YouTube and Vimeo.

In addition to this series, Ramos revealed that Netflix is already developing at least one other shortform title in Argentina and two more in Colombia. “The idea is, for example, to take characters from successful series like La Primera Vez in Colombia and create a mini-story centered on one of those characters,” he explained.

“But they do have to be horizontal. And they have to be ambitious, because we’re not trying to compete against TikTok, which is an excellent business but it’s not our business. We have to maintain ambition and quality, and these experiments will help us understand how our members engage with content of different lengths and assess whether it really makes sense for us,” he added.

Premium series and films remain the focus of Netflix, which is ruling out vertical markets

In that regard, the executive insisted that, beyond these experiments, Netflix’s mission remains to invest in “top-tier” productions. “Our strategy remains to produce traditional series in terms of length, scale and ambition, and to create productions on a scale never before seen in Latin America. That’s what sets us apart and what has made us who we are. So, we have to double-down on major TV series and major films,” he emphasised.

“For us, that is the soul, the backbone of the strategy. Large-scale local series and films. That is what builds the connection with the audience,” he concluded.

Despite this, Ramos acknowledged that the platform is moving forward with its plans to host live events, such as the boxing matches it has organised in the past. In that regard, Netflix will stream Supernova: Genesis on April 26, its first live event in Latin America. From the Arena Ciudad de México, Supernova: Genesis will bring together influencers, celebrities and YouTube stars in boxing matches.

As Ramos explains, the strategy for this type of content will be to start in Mexico and gradually expand to other Latin American territories. “We’ve seen that both NFL games and Canelo’s fight have performed very well in Mexico. That allows us to take the first step there. Additionally, Mexico is one of the countries where people spend the most hours on Netflix, and we already have the technical capacity to offer live events. We will expand our offerings in Mexico throughout 2026 and 2027 and then gradually grow in the rest of the region,” he concluded.

Paco Ramos, Netflix’s VP of content for Latin America, outlines the company’s microseries strategy and reveals plans to add more live events in the region.

Paco Ramos

Global streamer Netflix is experimenting with shortform content in Latin America, but for now it has ruled out joining the trend toward vertical video content, according to Francisco ‘Paco’ Ramos, the company’s VP of content for Latin America.

Ramos attended the opening of Netflix’s new offices in Buenos Aires last week and presented the platform’s 2026/27 slate of Argentine content, which includes Carísima, a series comprising 10-minute episodes.

Carísima is Netflix’s first shortform series in Latin America, and its arrival has reignited rumours about a possible expansion by the streaming service into vertical content, something of a hot topic in the global content industry right now. While regional rivals like ViX and Disney+ have already finalised or announced plans in this regard, Carolina Leconte, Netflix’s VP of content for Mexico, had previously hinted at Content Americas in January that the company was dipping its toes into vertical series.

Ramos, however, clarified in Buenos Aires last week that while Netflix is indeed exploring shortform content, it will do so in a horizontal format, as is the case with Carísima. “In Latin America, we have a very large young audience, and we set out to experiment with new forms of content to engage with these audiences, but without venturing into microdramas,” he said during a press conference in Buenos Aires.

“We still don’t have the technical capacity to offer vertical content, at least not with a high-quality experience like the one our members expect from us. What we did set out to do was experiment, play around, but always in horizontal format,” he added.

Carísima is based on the Argentine comedy character Caro Pardíaco

Carísima is based around the Argentine comedy character Caro Pardíaco, who was born from the sketch series Cualca and who went viral as a digital phenomenon. The influential Argentine web series and sketch comedy show was created by and starred Malena Pichot, along with Julián Kartun, Julián Lucero, Julián Doregger and Charo López. Known for its fast-paced sketches covering daily life in Buenos Aires, it gained massive popularity on YouTube and Vimeo.

In addition to this series, Ramos revealed that Netflix is already developing at least one other shortform title in Argentina and two more in Colombia. “The idea is, for example, to take characters from successful series like La Primera Vez in Colombia and create a mini-story centered on one of those characters,” he explained.

“But they do have to be horizontal. And they have to be ambitious, because we’re not trying to compete against TikTok, which is an excellent business but it’s not our business. We have to maintain ambition and quality, and these experiments will help us understand how our members engage with content of different lengths and assess whether it really makes sense for us,” he added.

Premium series and films remain the focus of Netflix, which is ruling out vertical markets

In that regard, the executive insisted that, beyond these experiments, Netflix’s mission remains to invest in “top-tier” productions. “Our strategy remains to produce traditional series in terms of length, scale and ambition, and to create productions on a scale never before seen in Latin America. That’s what sets us apart and what has made us who we are. So, we have to double-down on major TV series and major films,” he emphasised.

“For us, that is the soul, the backbone of the strategy. Large-scale local series and films. That is what builds the connection with the audience,” he concluded.

Despite this, Ramos acknowledged that the platform is moving forward with its plans to host live events, such as the boxing matches it has organised in the past. In that regard, Netflix will stream Supernova: Genesis on April 26, its first live event in Latin America. From the Arena Ciudad de México, Supernova: Genesis will bring together influencers, celebrities and YouTube stars in boxing matches.

As Ramos explains, the strategy for this type of content will be to start in Mexico and gradually expand to other Latin American territories. “We’ve seen that both NFL games and Canelo’s fight have performed very well in Mexico. That allows us to take the first step there. Additionally, Mexico is one of the countries where people spend the most hours on Netflix, and we already have the technical capacity to offer live events. We will expand our offerings in Mexico throughout 2026 and 2027 and then gradually grow in the rest of the region,” he concluded.