Why Microdramas are a Streaming Media Opportunity
In 2019, the amount of time Americans spent on their smartphones and tablets exceeded the amount of time spent watching TV for the first time by eight minutes (3:43 vs. 3:35), according to data from EMARKETER.
Fast forward to 2026, additional research from EMARKETER found that while the time spent watching video increased from 6:07 in 2020 to 6:45 in 2026, the percentage of that time spent on TV decreased from 58.2% in 2020 to 38.7% in 2026. Over the same period, the time Americans spent on their mobile phone increased from 3:38 to more than 5 hours.
Based on this data, I’m comfortable saying what we’ve all felt for a few years: We’re living in a mobile-first world.
But just because microdramas are being viewed on mobile devices doesn’t mean that they’re not a streaming media opportunity.
Microdramas: From China with Love
Despite America’s global leadership in technology and culture, thanks to TikTok, the Chinese have been able to do what other countries have been unable to do in the 21st Century: achieve global dominance.
The latest Chinese imports are Microdrama apps. These apps offer dramatic series with titles like Fake Dating My Rich Nemesis. Episodes usually run 60-90 seconds, with the first one or so often free. Viewers are then required to pay to view subsequent episodes. By the end of the series, a viewer might spend between $15-25. Thanks to lower production values than the studios and streaming services, coupled with the lack of A-list talent or existing IP, microdramas could soon generate revenue that will make a lot of Hollywood executives jealous.
Outside of China, microdrama apps earned $3 billion in 2025, with $1.3 billion from the US, according to data from Owl & Company. That’s nearly triple the revenue generated in 2024. The leading microdrama apps include DramaBox, Holywater, GammaTime, and ReelShort.
Owned by Singapore-based StoryMatrix, the DramaBox team recently participated in Disney’s accelerator program. Holywater, which received an investment from and announced a partnership with Fox Entertainment, is owned by the Ukrainian parent company My Drama. GammaTime, led by former Miramax CEO Bill Block, raised $14 million last year. ReelShort, which is backed by the Chinese COL Group, appears to lead the market based on $130 million in in-app revenue earned in Q1 2025. Mexican-American media company TelevisaUnivision is releasing microdramas on the company ViX streaming platform.
The microdrama trend hasn’t gone unnoticed by the leading platforms. YouTube is the leading platform for watching microdramas in the US. TikTok launched a “Minis” section to sample microdrama episodes and in early 2026, launched PineDrama, a stand-alone microdrama app in the US and Brazil.
The science of microdramas: follow the data
The success of microdrama apps is in their ability to give audiences what they want: bite-sized video distractions that can be consumed during breaks and downtime. Producers rely on the engagement data to understand what’s working because the social platforms provide a powerful and real-time feedback loop. After TikTok and YouTube taught viewers to expect constant stimulation, microdrama producers have tapped into this trend, giving viewers a steady stream of content they’re increasingly willing to pay to view.
The irony of the microdrama trend is Quibi, the short-form streaming app founded by former Disney Chairman and Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, which raised $1.75 billion. Quibi launched with much fanfare in April 2020 but shut down in December after falling short of subscriber projections. Though the quality of Quibi’s content was much higher than much of what is found on microdrama apps, it launched a few years too early and during COVID, when many were stuck home, close to their TVs.
Madison Avenue calling
Anyone thinking that microdramas sound a lot like soap operas wouldn’t be wrong. These serialized melodramatic series were named for the soap manufacturers that originally sponsored them, initially as radio broadcasts in the 1930s.
P&G, with a history of producing soap operas since the 1930s, including Guiding Light and As the World Turns, is producing the microdrama The Golden Pear Affair through P&G Productions, along with Dentsu Entertainment and Pixie USA, to support the company’s Native personal care brand. The microdrama will be distributed via social platforms and a proprietary app.
Maybelline New York sponsored Maybe This Christmas, a 5-episode microdrama to support its Instant Eraser concealer, viewable on YouTube, TikTok, and ReelShort.
Thanks to technology solutions like Rembrand, producers can integrate sponsored products into already produced microdramas, either as products in a scene or as billboards in the background of outdoor scenes.
Microdramas are soap operas 2.0. If anyone is capable of capitalizing on the microdrama opportunity, it’s the streaming media industry.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Zoomd. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]
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